Mental Health Counselor

Salary: $60,000- $66,000

Position Summary
The Mental Health Counselor and Social Work Instructor provides professional mental health counseling, crisis intervention, consultation, outreach, and referral services to students while also teaching assigned courses in the Social Work Department. This hybrid position supports student wellness, persistence, safety, and success through direct clinical service, prevention programming, campus collaboration, and high-quality classroom instruction.
The position is designed for a community college environment and requires strong clinical judgment, ethical boundary management, cultural responsiveness, and the ability to work effectively with students who may be first-generation, low-income, rural, Appalachian, adult, parenting, veteran, justice-impacted, or otherwise navigating complex barriers to academic success.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
A. Mental Health Counseling and Student Support
Provide short-term, confidential, student-centered counseling services consistent with professional ethics, Ohio licensure scope, and College policy.
Duties include:
Conduct intake assessments, biopsychosocial assessments, risk screenings, and treatment planning for enrolled students seeking mental health support.
Provide individual counseling, brief therapy, group counseling, crisis intervention, and stabilization services within the College’s defined scope of practice.
Assess and respond to student mental health crises, including suicidal ideation, self-harm, risk of harm to others, trauma response, substance use concerns, acute distress, and psychiatric emergencies.
Develop safety plans, referral plans, and follow-up plans for students requiring ongoing or higher-level care.
Refer students to community mental health providers, psychiatric services, substance use treatment, hospitals, emergency services, social service agencies, and other supports when student needs exceed the College’s scope of service.
Maintain accurate, timely, confidential clinical documentation in accordance with Ohio professional standards, institutional policy, and applicable law.
Provide consultation to faculty, staff, administrators, and campus safety personnel regarding students of concern while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and role boundaries.
Participate, as assigned, in CARE Team, behavioral intervention, threat assessment, retention, or student support meetings in a manner consistent with privacy, ethical, and legal requirements.
Provide outreach and prevention programming on topics such as stress management, coping skills, suicide prevention, resilience, trauma, healthy relationships, substance use, grief, emotional regulation, and help-seeking.
Maintain an updated referral network for local and regional providers, including emergency mental health resources and after-hours crisis supports.
Support institutional protocols for student mental health emergencies, including coordination with emergency responders and community partners when appropriate.
Maintain current professional license, continuing education, and knowledge of best practices in college counseling, crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, and culturally responsive practice.
B. Instruction in the Social Work Department
Teach assigned courses in the Social Work Department according to College standards, approved curriculum, and program learning outcomes.
Duties include:
Teach assigned courses such as Introduction to Social Work, Human Services, Interviewing Skills, Case Management, Crisis Intervention, Ethics, Mental Health and Substance Use, Social Welfare Policy, Practicum Seminar, or other courses aligned with the candidate’s qualifications and departmental need.
Deliver instruction, using active, applied, trauma-informed, and student-centered teaching strategies.
Teach assigned courses that support student preparation for Ohio chemical dependency counseling credentials, including LCDC-related content such as addiction theory, screening and assessment, treatment planning, counseling skills, ethics, documentation, prevention, and recovery-oriented practice. 
Prepare and maintain syllabi, course materials, assignments, rubrics, assessments, and learning activities consistent with approved course outcomes.
Use the College learning management system and instructional technology to support student learning, communication, grading, and academic engagement.
Hold office hours and provide academic support/advising to students enrolled in assigned courses and program.
Evaluate student performance fairly and consistently, provide timely feedback, and submit grades according to College deadlines.
Participate in assessment of student learning outcomes, program review, curriculum development, and department meetings as assigned.
Maintain appropriate faculty-student boundaries and avoid clinical relationships with students currently enrolled in the instructor’s courses, except for brief emergency triage and referral when necessary.
Collaborate with faculty and academic leadership to strengthen social work/human services curriculum, field-readiness, and student professional development.
All other duties as assigned.
C. Ethical Boundaries, Confidentiality, and Role Management
Because this position includes both clinical and instructional responsibilities, the incumbent must actively manage boundaries between the counselor role and faculty role.
Duties include:
Maintain separation between clinical counseling records and academic records.
Avoid providing ongoing counseling services to students currently enrolled in the incumbent’s courses whenever reasonable referral alternatives exist.
Clarify roles with students when potential overlap exists between counseling, instruction, advising, evaluation, and campus support functions.
Use informed consent, consultation, documentation, and referral when dual-role situations cannot be fully avoided.
Share student information only as permitted by law, professional ethics, College policy, informed consent, or applicable health and safety exceptions.
Refrain from using clinical information in academic evaluation, grading, classroom examples, advising, or program decision-making.
D. Campus Collaboration and Outreach
Work collaboratively with Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Disability Services, Title IX, Student Conduct, Campus Safety, Financial Aid, Academic Advising, Residence Life if applicable, and community partners to support student well-being.
Provide mental health consultation and training for faculty and staff on recognizing distress, making referrals, responding to students of concern, and supporting classroom well-being.
Support College-wide wellness, retention, and student success initiatives.
Participate in committees, task forces, and professional development activities related to student mental health, social work education, student success, and campus safety.
Contribute de-identified utilization and outreach data for program planning, quality improvement, grant reporting, or institutional assessment, while preserving confidentiality.
Required Qualifications
Master’s degree in Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Counselor Education, Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology, or a closely related behavioral health field from an accredited institution.
Current, active, unrestricted Ohio clinical license in good standing that permits independent or appropriately supervised mental health practice. Preferred license categories include LPCC, LPCC-S, LISW, LISW-S, or another Ohio-recognized independent behavioral health license appropriate to the assigned duties.
Demonstrated competence in assessment, brief therapy, crisis intervention, safety planning, referral, documentation, and ethical decision-making.
Ability to teach in-person courses in social work, human services, counseling, behavioral health, or related areas.
Knowledge of professional boundaries, informed consent, confidentiality, mandated reporting, suicide risk assessment, and referral procedures.
Ability to work effectively with diverse community college students, including students experiencing economic hardship, trauma, mental health concerns, substance use concerns, family responsibilities, transportation barriers, and rural access barriers.
Strong communication, consultation, documentation, classroom management, and collaboration skills.
Ability to work primarily on campus and maintain a regular in-person presence.
Preferred Qualifications
LPCC-S or LISW-S designation.
Experience working in college counseling, community college student support, community mental health, crisis services, or integrated student support.
College-level teaching experience, especially in social work, human services, behavioral health, counseling, psychology, or related fields.
Experience with rural, Appalachian, first-generation, low-income, adult learner, veteran, and/or justice-impacted student populations.
Training in evidence-based or evidence-informed practices such as CBT, DBT skills, solution-focused brief therapy, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care, suicide prevention, substance use screening/intervention, or crisis stabilization.
Familiarity with FERPA, HIPAA where applicable, Title IX, ADA/Section 504, behavioral intervention teams, threat assessment, and higher education student conduct processes.
Experience developing mental health outreach, prevention, and wellness programming.
Experience using electronic health records, student information systems, learning management systems, and secure documentation platforms.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
Sound clinical judgment and ability to respond calmly and effectively in crisis situations.
Strong ethical decision-making, especially when managing multiple roles on a small campus.
Ability to maintain confidentiality while collaborating appropriately with campus partners.
Ability to build rapport with students who may be reluctant to seek help or who have limited prior access to mental health care.
Ability to teach practical, skill-based, applied social work and human services content.
Strong classroom presence and ability to engage students in active learning.
Cultural humility and commitment to inclusive, equitable, accessible student support.
Strong organizational skills and ability to balance counseling caseload, documentation, outreach, teaching, grading, and committee responsibilities.
Ability to develop partnerships with local hospitals, behavioral health agencies, crisis providers, social service organizations, and other referral resources.
Working Conditions
This position requires regular on-campus work, in-person student contact, classroom instruction, private counseling sessions, crisis response, and occasional evening or special event availability. The incumbent may be exposed to emotionally distressed students and must be able to respond appropriately to urgent mental health situations. The position requires use of confidential records systems and adherence to all College policies related to student privacy, professional ethics, and workplace conduct.
Performance Expectations
The incumbent will be expected to:
Provide accessible, ethical, high-quality counseling and referral services.
Teach assigned courses effectively and meet instructional deadlines.
Maintain accurate and timely clinical and academic documentation.
Demonstrate appropriate boundaries between counseling and instructional roles.
Contribute to student retention, wellness, safety, and academic success.
Collaborate respectfully with colleagues across Student Affairs and Academic Affairs.
Maintain Ohio licensure and complete required continuing education.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Hocking College is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and students. The College encourages applications from candidates who will contribute to a climate of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging.