Substance Use Counselor

Substance Use Counselor

The Substance Use Counselor is responsible for counseling and client care functions at Volunteers of America Alaska ARCH program. The substance use disorder counselor is a fully functional member of the treatment team, develops and implements quality substance use treatment for agency clients, and implements goal directed clinical interventions.

VOA Alaska is a youth-serving organization providing prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery supports to youth and families struggling with mental illness and addiction. We are honored to walk with families during these times and provide support and hope through recovery. Our core values are connection, responsibility, courage, innovation, hope, and joy. We are looking for individuals who espouse these core values and align with this mission of services to the community.

Clinical

• Responsible for the substance use treatment of assigned clients as detailed below.
• Develops appropriate therapeutic relationships with assigned caseload consisting of youth struggling with substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders.
• Responsible for educating and supporting youth through addressing substance use challenges and coordinating services as needed to enhance quality of life.
• Supports youth in the development of individualized relapse prevention strategies and supports them in applying learned skills to enhance the quality of their lives and decrease substance misuse.
• Conducts individual, group and family counseling as prescribed in individualized treatment plans.
• Is responsible to maintain 15 hours of direct client contact through facilitation of individual, group, and family counseling.

• Develops and implements treatment plans, treatment plan reviews and produces client reports in a timely manner and in accordance to Medicaid regulations and agency policy and procedures.
• Implements treatment services and maintains client records in accordance to American Society of Addiction Medicine Patient Placement Criteria 2 (ASAM PPC3), CARF, Medicaid regulations, the Division of Behavioral Health requirements and agency policy.
• Provides crisis intervention services as needed for youth assigned to caseload.
• Presents clients monthly at weekly staff meeting to illicit feedback from interdisciplinary treatment team and ensure level of care placement is medically necessary according to ASAM standards. Responsible for follow through on treatment team developed interventions.
• Models interventions and provides clinical guidance to other staff.
• Assists in coordinating the transfer/discharge to continuing care services.
• Communicates client status to client's families and other agencies as indicated and in accordance with confidentiality regulations and agency policy.
• Conduct monthly clinical staffing summary of client's progress in accordance to individual program policy.
• Creates and completes client documentation in accordance to agency policies and procedures, Medicaid regulations, CARF standards, Division of Behavioral Health standards, and Division of Public Health regulations.
• Responsible for completion of all progress notes in accordance to the agency's policies and procedures.
• Acts as a liaison between urine analysis laboratory staff and ARCH. Conducts UAs for clients as necessary.

Milieu

• Provides a safe and therapeutic environment for clients, staff, and visitors. Is supportive of and skilled in utilizing the community as method to enact change. Collaborates closely with other therapeutic staff to ensure coordination of care and assigned interventions are communicated, implemented and monitored throughout the course of a client's treatment.

Other Duties

• Assures the maintenance of client confidentiality and the safeguarding of client information as per Regulations. Performs other duties as assigned or indicated. Expected to complete all assigned duties in accordance with timelines established by immediate supervisor.
• Maintains tracking of UA's through utilizing an internal tracking sheet and our UA partners.
• Agency adherence of duties and functions as listed below.
• Adheres to 42 C.F.R. and HIPAA privacy…