Wellness Counselor

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential Functions:

• Provides counseling as needed to police officers, civilian staff, and/or their families and refers them to community resources, services, or specialists as applicable.

• Develops treatment plans with behavioral and situational objectives.

• Conducts follow-up counseling on a weekly or biweekly basis as indicated by the needs of the individual receiving services.

• Keeps abreast of current techniques and procedures used in handling crisis situations. Gathers information about community mental health needs or resources that could be used in conjunction with treatment. Performs administrative duties including maintaining confidential records and writing detailed reports.

• Acts as a liaison between the police department, local mental health agencies, hospitals, and other applicable organizations.

• Instructs police trainees, civilians, and officers in identifying and recognizing indicators of distress or trauma in those who may be in need of mental health, wellness, peer support, or mentoring services.

• Performs other duties of a similar nature or level.

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Education and Experience

• Master's degree in a field of Behavioral Science, such as Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, or a related field from an accredited college or university.

• Two years of clinical counseling experience in a mental health related setting.

• An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the job's essential duties.

License and Certifications

• Possession of a valid driver's license.

• Current certification or licensing from the state of Tennessee in a counseling related field at the Master's level or above.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS REQUIRED

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Counseling principles and techniques.

• Policies and procedures used by local mental health agencies and hospitals.

• Developing treatment plans with behavioral and situational objectives.

• Maintaining confidential records and preparing detailed reports.

• Assessing a wide range of needs and problems related to crisis situations.

• Customer service principles.

• Establishing therapeutic relationships with clients and their families.

Skill in:

• Compiling, analyzing, and summarizing information.

• Applying Federal, State, and local laws, rules, and regulations.

• Providing customer service.

• Using computers and related software applications.

• Preparing and maintaining records.

• Maintaining confidentiality.

• Managing time effectively and prioritizing tasks.

• Effectively dealing with impaired individuals, particularly in stressful or tense situations.

• Communication and interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with subordinates, coworkers, supervisor, the general public, etc. sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.

Physical Requirements:

The work is sedentary work which requires exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature, or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.

• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.

• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.

• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination sound.

• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.

• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. It occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.

• Mental Acuity: Making rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.

• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.

• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something steady to thrust forward, downward, or outward.

• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.

• Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.

• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.

• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.

• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. It occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles.

• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.

• Visual ability 1: sufficient to perform an activity like preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading.

• Visual ability 3: sufficient to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures.

• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or move from one work site to another.