School Counselor

Description

Job Classification

Faculty, Benefits-Eligible, 10 Month, Exempt

Reports To

Director of Health and Wellness Services

Summary 

The School Counselor will provide short and possibly longer-term individual and group counseling to adolescent students anchored in multicultural frameworks and treatment modalities.  As a member of Mercersburg Academy Health and Wellness Services, the position will work with a team of mental health counselors as well as work in collaboration with Mercersburg’s consulting psychiatrist and the Health Services staff to support faculty, deans, and other professional staff in their work with students. Together, with the Office of Student Life, school counselors will work to promote community understanding of the social-emotional well-being and intersectionality of the identity of students. Each School Counselor will hold a caseload of students and participate in a regular on-call shift for off-hour emergencies. Other responsibilities include leading training for faculty and student leaders, occasional dorm-based or faculty discussions on adolescent issues and serving as a member of the health and wellness team.

Responsibilities and Duties

• In collaboration with other mental health counselors and the director of health and wellness, a school counselor will manage and coordinate all areas of clinical counseling with regard to student needs, parent communication, professional communication, and collaboration with administration and faculty.
• Assess, diagnose, and appropriately manage a caseload of diverse adolescents.
• Provide on-going psychotherapy and/or adjustment counseling to students, individually or in small groups.
• Serve as an “on-call” after hours counselor program to assess and manage student crisis situations.
• Collaborate with student learning services and admission and faculty on psychoeducational testing outcomes and provide feedback to appropriate personnel.
• Support student group programs and on-going health education issues when time allows.
• Ability to develop mindfulness based programs.
• Collaborate effectively with consulting psychiatrists and other health professionals.
• Assist with data tracking of departmental databases and clinical documents of students. 
• Collaborate effectively with the Director of Health and Wellness Services and health and wellness center personnel.
• Attend required administrative meetings when needed.
• Maintain professional and ethical standards of licensure.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

• Environment: Work is performed mostly in an indoor/office environment where the noise level is quiet.
• Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; may occasionally lift up 20 lbs.; to travel in all modes of transportation; sufficient manual dexterity and eye-hand coordination to operate office machinery, specifically a computer and keyboard.
• Vision: See in the normal visual range with or without correction to be able to see close, distance, and to focus.

Auditory: Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of the spoken word. Must be able to talk and hear by telephone and in person.

Requirements

• A Masters or PhD degree in one of the following: school counseling, social work, marriage and family counseling, mental health counseling, professional counseling. 
• Pennsylvania state licensure for independent clinical practice. 
• Experience working in a co-ed boarding school environment preferable.
• Experience working as a professional psychotherapist and providing a wide range of clinical services to an adolescent population.
• Willingness and ability to work within a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework to meet the needs of students and the community.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. 
• The ability to work collaboratively with coworkers and other school community members. 
• Strongly desire experience in therapeutic needs related to substance abuse preferable.