Behavioral Health Counselor-MS

Job Title: Behavioral Health Counselor MS 
Location: Riley Hospital, Indianapolis, IN
Schedule: Full-Time, Day Shift

Position Overview:

The Behavioral Health Counselor MS facilitates patient involvement in treatment and education within a multidisciplinary environment. Responsibilities include conducting individual, group, and family counseling, performing utilization review and discharge planning, and collaborating with healthcare team members to ensure safe, timely, and comprehensive patient care. The counselor also serves as a key liaison in cases of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and complex placements, providing crisis intervention and mental health assessments as needed.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct face-to-face individual, group, and family counseling sessions.

• Perform utilization review and discharge planning to support safe patient transitions.

• Collaborate with all members of the healthcare team to coordinate care, ensuring patients and families receive necessary resources and education.

• Interpret and communicate complex patient and family needs; role-model caring and professional practices.

• Assess psychosocial risk factors, including prior functioning, support systems, reactions to illness, and coping skills.

• Counsel patients and families on emotional, social, and financial impacts of illness/disability.

• Access and mobilize community and family resources to meet identified needs.

• Conduct mental health assessments upon physician referral.

• Support complex discharge planning and therapeutic interventions.

• Serve as the primary point of contact in cases involving child abuse/neglect, elder abuse/neglect, institutional abuse, and domestic violence.

• Act as liaison between Indiana University Health and local protective agencies (APS/CPS).

• Maintain principles and techniques of crisis intervention and de-escalation, supporting safety in acute situations.

• Provide intervention support in guardianship, foster care, adoption, and mental health Level II placements.

• Deliver specialized mental health services, including crisis intervention and addiction assessments, with recommendations for psychiatric referral or community resources.

• Support patients during crises, employing de-escalation techniques to prevent violence.

• Conduct effective interviews with victims, perpetrators, and significant others.

• Provide intervention for end-of-life, guardianship, foster care, and adoption cases.

• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with hospital leadership, law enforcement, community agencies, schools, probation, and other stakeholders.

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Education: Master’s Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related mental health field from an accredited institution.

• Experience: 0-3 years relevant healthcare, mental health, or community-based experience preferred.

• Licensure: License-eligible in Indiana as an LCSW, LMHC, LMFT, or LCAC. Must have a minimum of a permanent LSW, LMHC-A, or LMFT-A upon hire.

• Certifications:

  • Certification in crisis intervention or an equivalent de-escalation training may be required.

  • BLS certification may be required.

• Knowledge & Skills:

  • Evidence-based psychosocial assessment, short-term therapeutic counseling, and crisis intervention.

  • Knowledge of disease processes and human behavior related to health social needs.

  • Complex discharge planning skills.

  • Knowledge of state and county legal mandates regarding child and adult protective services.

  • Principles of growth and development across the lifespan, including end-of-life care.

  • Ability to identify decision-makers and facilitate goals of care conversations.

  • Experience working with geographically, culturally, and financially diverse populations.

  • Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skil