Mental Health Counselor and Outreach Coordinator

Counselor Position

This role includes both a clinical counseling component, as well as an outreach/health promotion component. Provides individual counseling, group counseling, crisis intervention, consultation and referral; prepares, communicates and executes psycho-educational programs. Responsible for the coordination, implementation, delivery, and evaluation of campus-wide health promotion and mental health education initiatives. The position integrates public health, clinical, and educational approaches to support overall student mental health and promote student well-being initiatives. Holistic wellbeing initiatives will address suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention, stigma reduction, stress management, body image, mental health literacy, and related behavioral health concerns.

Counselor will serve as a member of the Fairfield University Wellness Committee, an interdisciplinary team committed to advancing the University's holistic wellness initiatives on campus.

Some evenings and weekends may be required. Regular office hours are 8:30am-4:30pm, Monday through Friday, excluding national and University-recognized holidays. Regular hours may vary occasionally in response to emergent clinical need, after-hours on-call coverage, or wellness programming. Responsible for the management of confidential and sensitive student information.

Education, Certification, License, and Experience Requirements:

• Earned doctorate (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in clinical or counseling psychology from a doctoral program accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) or Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Social Work, or Marriage and Family Therapy.
• Licensed in the State of Connecticut, or license-eligible. If unlicensed, clinical supervision will be provided by a licensed C&PS counselor; full licensure must be obtained within 18 months of hire.
• Demonstrated knowledge in the developmental aspects of young adulthood. Understanding and appreciation of the Jesuit mission of the University. Planning and implementation of broad wellness-based outreach initiatives. A minimum of 1-2 year of college counseling experience is required.

Essential Functions:

Provide individual counseling services. This involves:

• Providing goal-focused, short-term counseling.
• Coordinating case management and recommending referral and/or follow-up counseling with an outside source
• Maintaining confidential documentation
• Administering triage and providing walk-in coverage to evaluate level of risk
• Provides crisis intervention on an emergency basis.
• Serve as back-up counselor for 24/7 on-call system
• Engage in clinical peer-to-peer supervision with clinical staff at weekly staff meetings

Maintain timely and thorough documentation. This involves:

• Utilization of scheduling and record-keeping software (i.e., Titanium)
• Timely charting of clinical records.
• Preparing statistical reports and annual reports.

Clinical Consultation, Prevention, and Care Coordination. This involves:

• Consult with CAPS clinicians, Student Health Center staff, and various campus partners regarding student mental health trends, prevention strategies, and outreach alignment to develop clinically-informed initiatives relevant to evolving needs of the campus community
• Support suicide prevention, sexual misconduct prevention, and postvention programming using evidence-based and trauma-informed approaches.
• Assist with the coordination and delivery of mental health screenings, early-intervention initiatives, and help-seeking campaigns.

Health & Wellness Education and Outreach. This involves:

• Working collaboratively with the Student Health Center, Counseling & Psychological Services, Title IX Office, the Office of the Dean of Students, the Wellness Committee, and other campus departments and community agencies in the coordination, planning, and implementation of programs and events across campus. Serves on and chairs various committees as assigned.
• Developing and implement population-level interventions, small group programs, workshops, trainings, and social marketing campaigns addressing mental health and well-being.
• Tracking participation and outcomes to support continuous improvement.

Student Engagement and Capacity Building. This involves:

• Coordinating opportunities for students to engage in mental health promotion, peer education, and wellness advocacy initiatives.
• Providing consultation and training to student organization leaders to support psychologically safe and wellness-focused organizational practices.
• Participating in first-year and transfer student orientation programming related to mental health and well-being.

Work Schedule: 9-month role, 35 hours/week

Employee Type: Exempt

Performs such other duties, responsibilities, and activities as required by supervisor and as departmental/University needs indicate.

The above information indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain, and should not be interpreted as containing, a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, activities, and/or qualifications required or expected of employees assigned to this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change and new ones may be assigned at any time, with or without notice.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a satisfactory background check.

Fairfield University provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.