State of Maryland

The Mental Health Professional Counselor Supervisor is the supervisory level of professional counseling work, at the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor level, providing counseling services to clients with mental health disorders by using assessment, evaluation, intervention, rehabilitation and treatment regimens. Employees in this classification supervise lower-level Mental Health Professional Counselors.

Employees receive general supervision from a program administrator. Employees in this classification may be required to work evenings and on weekends. The work is performed in State mental health programs located in State institutions, facilities and offices including inpatient and outpatient facilities, jails, detention centers, prisons, halfway house facilities and community-based programs.

The Mental Health Professional Counselor Supervisor is differentiated from the Mental Health Professional Counselor, in that the Mental Health Professional Counselor Supervisor supervises lower-level Mental Health Professional Counselors, while the Mental Health Professional Counselor performs the full range of duties under general supervision. The Mental Health Professional Counselor Supervisor is differentiated from the Mental Health Professional Counselor Advanced in that the Mental Health Professional Counselor Advanced performs an advanced level of the work in a specialty area or in a defined treatment or population area.

Plans, coordinates, supervise and evaluates the work of Mental Health Professional Counselors and related support staff;

Conducts staff meetings to interpret policies and procedures, review progress reports and coordinate other phases of the mental health program;

Reviews case material to assure compliance to standards and procedures for providing mental health services;

Evaluates existing mental health programs and may initiate, modify or terminate programs as necessary;

Represents the agency in cooperative relationships with other agencies and institutions;

Assists in planning and conducting in-service training activities for Mental Health Professional Counselors and other health services personnel;

Makes recommendations in regard to personnel or budgetary needs;

Reviews and evaluates policies and procedures and makes recommendations to improve the quality of staff performance and client services;

Provides mental health diagnosis, clinical counseling and case management services to clients with mental and emotional disorders with the most complex problems as defined by standard treatment criteria;

Coordinates all treatment activities with services provided to the client by other resources and collaborates with other disciplines involved in providing treatment;

Evaluates client progress implementing treatment plan and makes appropriate changes to ensure progress;

Provides group counseling to clients with mental health disorders;

Adheres to accepted ethical and behavioral standards of conduct and participates in continuing professional development;

May direct the work of component mental health programs for clients with mental and emotional disorders;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the philosophies, practices, policies and outcomes of the most generally accepted and scientifically supported models of treatment, recovery, relapse prevention and continuing care for mental health-related problems;

Knowledge of the established diagnostic criteria for mental and emotional disorders, treatment modalities and placement criteria within the continuum of care;

Knowledge of models and theories of problems related to mental disorders;

Knowledge of the social and cultural context within which mental and emotional abuse exist;

Knowledge of ethical and behavioral standards of conduct in the helping relationship;

Knowledge of principles of learning and a variety of educational techniques;

Knowledge of medical and pharmacological resources in the treatment of mental and emotional disorders;

Knowledge of methods of measuring treatment outcome;

Knowledge of federal, State, local and agency policies and procedures governing the delivery of mental health services;

Knowledge of a variety of current and emerging helping strategies for reducing the negative effects of mental and emotional abuse and dependence;

Skill in tailoring helping strategies and treatment modalities to the client’s stage of dependence, change or recovery;

Skill in providing treatment services appropriate to the personal and cultural identity of the client; Skill in working cooperatively with other professionals and agencies;

Skill in establishing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with clients with mental and emotional disorders and their significant others;

Skill in making effective presentations to a variety of audiences;

Skill in accurately documenting client-related information;

Skill in adapting clinical practice to the range of treatment settings and modalities in State institutions and facilities;

Skill in applying crisis management skills to client crisis;

Skill in applying setting-specific policies and procedures to clinical practice;

Ability to plan and coordinate the work of a mental health program;

Ability to review and evaluate case records to assure compliance to standards and conformance to policy;

Ability to work with other staff, clients, families of clients and various community organizations;

Ability to review and evaluate policies and procedures and make recommendations to improve the quality of staff performance and client services;

Ability to use the support systems and resources available to clients and their significant others;

Ability to identify and utilize the role of family, social networks, self-help groups and community systems in the treatment and recovery process;

Ability to make constructive therapeutic responses when the client’s behavior is inconsistent with stated recovery goals;

Ability to plan, coordinate, supervise and evaluate the work of Mental Health Professional Counselors and support staff assigned to the program.

Education: Determined by the Maryland State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists under the requirements for Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).

Experience: Three years of experience providing professional counseling to clients with mental health disorders by using assessment, evaluation, intervention, rehabilitation and treatment regimens.

Note: 1. These requirements are established by the Maryland State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists. The Department of Budget and Management, Office of Personnel Services and Benefits does not have the authority to accept substitutions or equivalents.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in Mental or Behavioral Health Counseling classifications or Mental or Behavioral Health Nursing and Specialist specialty codes in the counseling field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience. 

1. In accordance with Health Occupations Title 17 and Code of Maryland Regulations 10.58.01.05, candidates placed in this classification must be licensed by the Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)

2. Candidates appointed to positions in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator's license valid in the State of Maryland.