State of Maryland

18

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE BARGAINING UNIT: E NCP

The Marriage and Family Professional Counselor is the full performance level of professional counseling work, at the Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT) level, providing counseling services to clients and their families by using assessment, evaluation, intervention, rehabilitation and treatment regimens. Employees in this classification do not supervise.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from a Marriage and Family Professional Counselor Supervisor or other supervisor approved by the Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists. Employees in this classification may be required to work evenings and on weekends. The work is performed in State mental health programs located in Local Health Departments and community-based programs.

The Marriage and Family Professional Counselor and the Marriage and Family Graduate Professional Counselor are differentiated on the basis of licensure and supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees. The Marriage and Family Professional Counselor is the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor level of work and the employee performs the full-range of duties under general supervision and the Marriage and Family Graduate Professional Counselor is the Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor level of work and the employee learns to perform duties under close supervision. The Marriage and Family Professional Counselor is differentiated from the Marriage and Family Professional Counselor Supervisor in that the Marriage and Family Professional Counselor Supervisor supervises lower-level Marriage and Family Professional Counselors.

Provides mental health diagnosis, clinical counseling and case management services to clients and their families;

Advocates for client and family services, collaborates with other disciplines involved in providing treatment and coordinates all treatment activities with services provided to the clients and their family by other resources;

Provides counseling, individually or in group sessions, to clients experiencing temporary difficulties in handling family, vocational, social or other life crises;

Plans, organizes, or leads structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients;

Provides group counseling to clients and their families;

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

Screens clients and their families to determine the most appropriate initial course of action with regard to treatment;

Develops client treatment plans including problem areas, desired treatment outcomes and the strategies for achieving them;

Makes referrals to facilitate the client’s use of available support systems and resources in response to needs identified in clinical evaluation;

Identifies and responds to clients in crisis;

Provides family and marriage related education and teaches life skills relevant to family structure;

Documents client-related information in accordance with accepted principles of medical records management;

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

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins;

Knowledge of the philosophies, practices, policies, and outcomes of the most generally accepted and scientifically supported models of treatment 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 treatment problems related to mental health;

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 treatment 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 on negative influences to 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 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 management skills to client crisis;

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

Ability to establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship with clients with mental health disorders and their significant others;

Ability to identify 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 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 listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences;

Ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events);

Ability to give full attention to what other people are saying, take time to understand the points being made, ask questions as appropriate, and not interrupt at inappropriate times;

Ability to actively look for ways to help people;

Ability to handle complaints, settle disputes, resolve grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiate with others;

Ability to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems;

Ability to communicate effectively.

Education: Determined by the Maryland State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists under the requirements for Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT).

Experience: Determined by the Maryland State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists under the requirements for Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT).

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 10.58.08, candidates placed in this classification must be licensed by the Maryland State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists as a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT).

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.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Professional Service classification in the State Personnel Management System. All positions in this classification are Professional Service positions. Some positions in Professional Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit E, Health Care Professionals classes. As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining. Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series. NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series. In order to be noncompetitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.

July 1, 2024

Director, Division of Classification and Salary