Mental Health Therapist - Substance Use Disorders

Washington, DC | Hybrid | $80K–$85K | Washington Post Top Workplace (8x Winner)

Community of Hope is seeking a dedicated and empathetic Clinical Therapist - Substance Use Disorders (Emotional Wellness Therapist) specializing in providing professional addiction and recovery counseling and psychotherapy services within a supportive and respectful environment. As an Emotional Wellness Therapist, you'll empower individuals and families experiencing addiction as well as common co-occurring mental health stressors such as anxiety, depression, trauma etc. by providing diagnostic assessment, treatment planning, and professional counseling through various effective intervention methods, meeting clinical standards within the appropriate scope of practice.

This position is available at our Conway Health and Resource Center in Southwest, DC OR Family Health and Birth Center in Northeast, DC.

Our Approach And Values

• We celebrate people’s strengths and acknowledge the impact of trauma on people’s lives.
• We embrace diversity, welcome all voices, and treat everyone with respect and compassion.
• We lead and advocate for changes to make systems more equitable.
• We strive for excellence and value integrity in all that we do.

What You’ll Do

• Provides consultation and guidance surrounding substance use disorders and/or co-occurring disorders including staying up to date with best practices, current drug trends and resources within the community.
• Provides professional addiction counseling and psychotherapy to clients of the health center, including diagnostic assessment, treatment planning, and professional counseling to individuals in need of addressing Substance Use Disorders and or co-occurring disorders.
• Interviews, evaluates, and assigns a diagnosis to new clients with complex problems relating to alcohol, other drug abuse and co-occurring disorders.
• Completes required screening tools to assess clinical diagnoses and monitor symptoms, quarterly, or more frequently as needed. Completes a treatment plan for all short-term therapy clients by the 2nd scheduled session and for long-term therapy clients by the 4th scheduled session.
• Monitors client progress through the course of treatment, reevaluating and adapting the treatment plan at required intervals. Updates treatment plan at least every 3 months or more frequently as appropriate.
• Provides crisis intervention per the clinician’s licensing and COH guidelines, to include addressing suicidal/homicidal ideations.
• Provides all types of addiction recovery, treatment coordination and systematic reporting of progress, recommendations, and referrals in accordance with applicable program guidelines.
• Follows COH’s clinical protocols at all times, including by contacting Child and Family Services Administration, Adult Protective Services, Mobile Crisis, and/or 911 when appropriate.
• Helps identify and address related problems affecting addiction recovery, such as housing, vocational rehabilitation, and social integration, and coordinates service delivery with other health center staff and community providers.
• Documents all materials given to the patient in the electronic record, including any document needing to be uploaded via patient docs within eCW per the established timeframe.

Must-Haves

• LICSW or LPC required, with experience treating persons with addictive disorders. (Any providers who are licensed in another state who provide a copy of their license to Talent Management are also eligible for licensure reimbursement.)
• Valid BLS Certification.
• Ability to travel between sites.
• Thorough knowledge of substance abuse treatment principles, counseling techniques, diagnostic assessment, and treatment planning.
• Experience in facilitating SUD group therapy, Co-occurring group therapy, and psycho-education groups on recovery.
• Ability to accurately complete assessment and diagnostic forms as part of the medical record.
• Ability to appropriately intervene in situations involving hostile clients or individuals experiencing a crisis.

Nice-to-Haves

• Sensitivity to diverse cultural, ethnic, and sexual orientation identity issues.
• Experience in a community health center setting.
• Knowledge of community resources or the ability to become knowledgeable.
• Ability during evening or weekend hours depending on client needs and organization events.

Why You'll Love Working Here

At COH, we prioritize the following well-being and work-life balance-centered benefits:

• 8 x Washington Post 150 Top Workplaces winner.
• 8-hour workdays with paid lunch.
• 3 weeks vacation (additional week after two years), 2 weeks sick leave, + 11.5 paid holidays and one personal floating holiday on an annual basis.
• Annual performance-based raises, up to 5% of your annual pay.
• Tuition reimbursement & loan repayment (NHSC & DCHPLRP), Licensing reimbursement & CEU funding.
• Medical, dental, vision, life & disability insurance + 403(b) retirement.
• Leadership development, internal promotions and career growth opportunities.
• A culture grounded in equity, compassion, and well-being.

About Community Of HOPE

Community of Hope is a mission-driven, innovative, rapidly growing nonprofit, and Federally Qualified Health Center. For over 45 years, we have provided health and housing services, perinatal care coordination, and community support services to make Washington, DC more equitable. Community of Hope also strongly emphasizes maternal and child health, with midwifery practice and the only free-standing birth center in DC. We are honored to be one of DC’s largest providers of housing and homelessness prevention services for families and individuals throughout DC. Through our Family Success Center, our WIC nutrition centers, and our various partnerships, we have reached hundreds and believe that everyone in DC deserves to be healthy, housed, and hopeful. With the help of our amazing staff, we have successfully provided: 50,000+ medical visits 6,300+ dental visits 17,000+ emotional wellness visits 1,384 families and 220 individuals with housing/homelessness prevention services Ready to bring hope and health to our DC community? Apply today! To request a reasonable accommodation to complete an employment application or for general questions about employment with Community of Hope, contact a Recruiting Coordinator. Email: hr@cohdc.org Phone: 202-407-7747. Community of Hope is an equal opportunity employer.