Crisis Center Therapist I / II, Grade 23/24

Salary : $80,070.00 - $128,198.00 Annually
Location : 1301 Piccard Dr Rockville MD 20850 USA
Job Type: Permanent
Job Number: 2026-00288
Department: Department of Health and Human Services
Division: HHS 60 Behavioral Health and Crisis Services Division
Opening Date: 05/20/2026
Closing Date: 6/3/2026 11:59 PM Eastern
FLSA: Exempt


About the Position
Please note: The salary range above represents this position's earning potential. The anticipated hiring range for this position will be as follows based on the candidate's qualifications and experience.

If filled at the Therapist I, Grade 23, the hiring range is $76,742 - $102,178.

If filled at the Therapist II, Grade 24, the hiring range is $80,070 - $118,454.

WHO WE ARE
Montgomery County is located adjacent to Washington, D.C., and with over one million residents, is the most populous County in the State of Maryland. The County is also the most diverse County in the State and ranks among the top ten most diverse Counties in the nation. Montgomery County contains many major U.S. government offices, scientific research and learning centers, and business campuses.
The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for delivery of the County's public health and human services that meets the needs of our community's most vulnerable children, adults and seniors. The Department provides services through more than 120 programs at more than 20 locations. With over 2,000 employees, the Department of Health and Human Services is the largest County Department.
As a Department, we believe health and wellness of the county can only be achieved by ensuring that every resident has fair opportunities to reach their fullest potential. This means access to quality housing, transportation, education, employment, health care, human services, safe neighborhoods, and healthy food. HHS provides critical services for residents who face a variety of obstacles in achieving their full potential. HHS plays an essential role in building a healthy and strong community.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a Therapist I/II to serve in the 24 Hours Crisis Center of Behavioral Health and Crisis Services. We are looking for an enthusiastic behavioral health professional who enjoys working with a diverse population of all ages and has experience working with individuals with a wide range of behavioral health conditions. If you have inpatient behavioral health, emergency room, residential or group home experience or have worked on a mobile crisis outreach team, our clients could benefit from your skills. Client and community-focused individuals who enjoy working as part of a team in a dynamic setting are encouraged to apply.

What You'll Be Doing
This position is designated as Essential. The individual selected for this position will be considered an Essential Employee. Essential employees must report to work during a period of general emergency or liberal leave.
The Therapist I/ II (T I/II) is a full performance-level clinical counseling professional working at the Crisis Center.
Primary responsibilities include:

• Application of crisis intervention principles and methods in the assessment, diagnosis, prevention, psychotherapeutic treatment, and case management of individuals and/or families involved in one or more of the four therapeutic components at the 24-hour Crisis Center.
• This T II position is considered essential and works as a multidisciplinary team member sharing direct service responsibilities with other Crisis Center staff.
• Duties include serving in each of the four therapeutic components of the Crisis Center consisting of Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams (MCOT), Residential Crisis Services (RCS), walk-in clinical assessments and telephone crisis work.
  MCOT duties include some community outreach, working at any of the satellite locations and conducting clinical assessments outside and/or inside client's homes, on the street, often going up and down multiple steps or uneven terrain in inclement weather or poor conditions. MCOT staff also provide on-scene support at critical incidents and county wide emergencies or disasters.
• RCS duties include individual, family, group therapy and oversight / monitoring of a therapeutic milieu for voluntary adult clients. May also include assisting with any residential tasks as needed (example - preparing meals, preparing rooms, conducting rounds).
• Walk-in clinical assessments are conducted with a wide variety of clients of all ages with co-occurring disorders, all psychiatric diagnoses and multi-layered problems or situations.
• Telephone crisis work includes assessment of risk, a variety of referrals, information and collaboration/coordination with agency partners and after-hours backup for other county programs.

The selected candidate will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment background check, medical exam and drug screening.

Minimum Qualifications
Therapist I Level:
Education : Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master's Degree in clinical or counselling psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, nursing, or a related Behavioral science field.


Experience : None


Equivalency : None


License Requirement : One of the following licenses, issued by the State of Maryland, must be held and maintained by the employee:

• Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW).
• Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC); or
• Licensed Graduate Marriage and Family Therapist (LGMFT).

Driver's License Required : Possession and maintenance at all times of a valid driver's license from the applicant's state of residence.
Therapist II Level:

Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master's Degree in clinical or counseling psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, nursing, or a related behavioral science field.


Experience: Two (2) years of professional experience rendering therapeutic counseling, social work, nursing or psychology services, as pertinent to one's professional licensing.


Equivalency: None.
LICENSE REQUIREMENT: One of the following licenses, issued by the State of Maryland, must be held, and maintained by the employee:

• Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC);
• Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapy (LCMFT);

• Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC);
• Licensed Certified Social Worker/Clinical (LCSW-C);
• Licensed Registered Nurse in the United States, certified as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner or Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in the State of Maryland; or
• Licensed Psychologist

Note: There will be no substitutions for this requirement.

Driver's License Required : Possession and maintenance at all times of a valid driver's license from the applicant's state of residence.
Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences

The applications of those individuals meeting the minimum qualifications will be reviewed to determine the extent, relevancy of training, and experience in the following areas:

• Clinical experience as a mental health practitioner treating individuals with co-occurring disorders, persistent mental illness and/or victimization and trauma.
• Professional experience in a Crisis Center, emergency room, and/or other 24/7 setting providing urgent behavioral health services such as a stabilization unit, residential treatment settings, and/or impatient hospital health setting.
• Experience providing crisis intervention services during community-wide emergencies such as natural disasters, serious accidents, and/or other emergency situations that might include fatalities.
• Experience providing mobile crisis outreach services in behavioral health emergencies.

Preference for interviews may be given to candidates will experience in the following areas:

• Experience working in crisis intervention or on a mobile crisis outreach team
• Experience working in an inpatient behavioral health setting
• Experience working in an emergency department conducting clinical behavioral health assessments
• Experience working as a co-responder with law enforcement
• Multilingual proficiency in Spanish, French, or Amharic Preferred

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.

Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at View email address on click.appcast.io. Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.

This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law : Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.
Leave Benefits

Our generous leave package starts with non-MLS permanent and term employees earning 15 days of sick leave and 15 days of annual leave in their first year, as well as up to three additional personal days each calendar year. Positions in MLS earn 35 days of paid time off each year. In addition, we offer all employees 10 paid holidays. Our leave policies adhere to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, and we provide six weeks of paid parental leave for new parents.

Retirement Benefits

All permanent and term positions are eligible for robust retirement plans. Public safety positions are eligible for a defined benefit pension plan in which they are vested after only five years. Employees in non-public safety positions can participate in retirement plans that contribute up to 12 percent of their annual salary. All employees can also participate in a supplemental retirement plan, the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, to contribute even more to their retirement goals.

Tuition Assistance & Student Loan Forgiveness

Montgomery County employees are eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Participants who meet all requirements may qualify for forgiveness on the remaining balance on their Direct Loans after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time in a qualifying public service position. To learn more about PSLF, please visit the Student Loan Repayment Benefits page. Our tuition assistance program allows you to receive up to $2,130 annually in tuition assistance to help you achieve a degree that supports your career path.

Free Mass Transit Benefit

County employees are entitled to use the RideOn Bus service for free with a valid County-employee ID. This benefit can be used any time of the day or evening, including weekends. We also offer a pre-tax flexible spending account to reduce the cost of other mass-transit options such as MARC trains and Metro.

Reduced Child and Health Care Costs

Working for Montgomery County also entitles permanent and term employees to participate in healthcare and childcare Flexible Spending Accounts. These plans allow eligible employees to save on a pretax basis for healthcare and dependent care costs incurred during the plan year.


Employee Wellbeing

We deeply care about your holistic wellness. Our award-winning wellness program, LiveWell, will support you in improving and maintaining your physical, mental, financial, social, and intellectual well-being.

Learn more about our wonderful benefits available to you once you join our team. Montgomery County Benefits
01



Do you possess and currently maintain a VALID driver's license from your state of residence?

• Yes
• No

02


Have you graduated from an accredited college or university with a Master's Degree in clinical or counseling psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, nursing, or a related behavioral science field?

• Yes
• No

03


Do you currently hold one of the following licenses, issued by the State of Maryland?

• Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)
• Licensed Certified Social Worker/Clinical (LCSW-C)
• Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC)
• Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)
• Licensed Graduate Marriage and Family Therapist (LGMFT)
• Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapy (LCMFT)
• Licensed Graduate Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LGADC)
• Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC)
• Licensed Registered Nurse in the United States, certified as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner or Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in the State of Maryland
• Licensed Psychologist

• Yes
• No

04



Please provide the details of the required active Maryland licensure that you currently possess, including which licensure, the licensure number, and the expiration date.
05



How many years of professional experience do you have rendering therapeutic counseling, social work, nursing or psychology services, as pertinent to one's professional licensing?

• No Experience
• 1 Year Experience
• 2 Years Experience
• 3+ Years Experience

06



Do you have clinical experience as a mental health practitioner treating individuals with co-occurring disorders, persistent mental illness and/or victimization and trauma?

• Yes
• No

07


Please provide additional details regarding your clinical experience as a mental health practitioner treating individuals with co-occurring disorders, persistent mental illness and/or victimization and trauma. Also include the positions listed on your resume where you performed these duties.
08


Do you have professional experience in a Crisis Center, emergency room, and/or other 24/7 setting providing urgent behavioral health services such as a stabilization unit, residential treatment settings, and/or impatient hospital health setting?

• Yes
• No

09


Please provide additional details regarding your professional experience in a Crisis Center, emergency room, and/or other 24/7 setting providing urgent behavioral health services such as a stabilization unit, residential treatment settings, and/or impatient hospital health setting. Also include the positions listed on your resume where you performed these duties.
10


Do you have experience providing crisis intervention services during community-wide emergencies such as natural disasters, serious accidents, and/or other emergency situations that might include fatalities?

• Yes
• No

11


Please provide additional details regarding your experience providing crisis intervention services during community-wide emergencies such as natural disasters, serious accidents, and/or other emergency situations that might include fatalities. Also include the positions listed on your resume where you performed these duties.
12



Do you have experience providing mobile crisis outreach services in behavioral health emergencies?

• Yes
• No

13


Please provide additional details regarding your experience providing mobile crisis outreach services in behavioral health emergencies. Also include the positions listed on your resume where you performed these duties.
14



Do you currently possess multilingual skills to include oral communication, reading comprehension and interpreting skills in any of the following languages? Please select from the list below.

• Amharic
• French
• Spanish
• N/A

Required Question