Certified Peer Counselor - Belltown - Part-time

Overview

Grow your career here! 

Sound Behavioral Health is growing and we are hiring a certified peer counselor in Seattle, WA! Sound is one of King County’s most comprehensive providers of quality mental health and addiction treatment services, supporting our area’s most vulnerable populations. A central tenet of our work is Reaching Recovery, an evidence-based clinical care model.

 

Sound team members are focused on demonstrating compassion, patience, and understanding when treating clients. We believe in and advocate for Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion for our team and clients. 

 

Certified peers work alongside professional team members to provide a living example of hope that recovery is possible for others living with disorders. Peers' personal experiences can be a valuable asset to the clinical team. Their first-person knowledge and their stories of recovery enhance and extend services, as well as infuse clients with hope and self-determination. 

 

Certified peers provide flexible services that are customized to the needs of the client and that allow the peer to act as a role model of recovery. Certified peer assist professional team members in the delivery of conventional health services and a service model built on principles of mutuality, empowerment, and informality. 

 

Schedule: Part-time 20 hours per week. Monday-Friday 9:00am-1:00pm. 

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

• Assists in developing and implementing the recovery plan, including identifying life goals and the steps needed to achieve them. 

• Identifies services and activities that promote recovery and resilience.

• Supports clients and their families in making their own choices and taking responsibility for their own recovery.

• Assist clients with navigating the behavioral health and criminal justice systems.

• Assists clients in building self-advocacy skills and developing coping skills.

• Assists clients with navigating the mental health and other systems.  

• Assists clients in building and maintaining community living skills and accessing community resources. 

• Assists clients with finding and retaining employment, education, and volunteer work. 

• Assists clients with finding other meaningful activities that promote a sense of purpose, structure, and inclusion in the community.

• Assists clients to identify strengths, recognize successes, and build hope.

• Assists in reducing the sense of isolation and helplessness that clients and families often feel.

• Articulates their own recovery and resilience stories in ways that are relevant to the obstacles faced by clients of mental health services.

• Utilizes recovery tools and resources in the delivery of services.

• Facilitates classes and individual plan development.

 

KEY WORK RELATIONSHIPS

 

Establishes and maintains positive, ethical, and professional working relationships with clinical team members, clients, and outside organizations. Relates to a wide variety of people including members of ethnic and sexual minority populations and is respectful of individual and cultural differences. 

Qualifications

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• High School Diploma, GED or in active pursuit of diploma or GED preferred but not required.

• Previous experience working in community behavioral health or lived experience is preferred. 

 

KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES, AND SKILLS

• Follows direction from supervisor and maintains professional boundaries with both clients and team members. 

• Uses personal experience to build empathy and rapport. 

• Validates and provides information, emotional support and encouragement.

• Understands dual relationships and role conflicts.

• Maintains confidentiality.

• Knows when to seek consultation and supervision within the scope of their training.

 

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES & REGISTRATIONS

• Must be a Certified Peer Counselor, having completed the training, passed the exam and be in possession of the confirmation letter from DSHS/DBHR.

• Must be able to obtain a WA State Agency Affiliated Counselor credential within the first 60 days of hire. 

• Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record required. 

• Must pass a criminal background check.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

To successfully perform the essential duties of this Job, a