State of Maryland

19

The Mental Health Professional Counselor Advanced is the advanced level of professional counseling work, at the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor level, providing counseling services as an expert in a specialty area such as dissociative, adjustment or bipolar disorders, or in a defined treatment or population area to clients with mental health disorders by using assessment, evaluation, intervention, rehabilitation and treatment regimens. As an expert in a specialty area, these employees may provide instruction, guidance and consultation to lower-level Mental Health Professional Counselors and other staff. Employees in this classification do not supervise.

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

Provides mental health diagnosis, clinical counseling and case management services to clients with mental and emotional disorders as an expert in a specialty area such as dissociative, adjustment and bipolar disorders; or in a defined treatment or population area, may act as an instructor and consultant to lower-level Mental Health Professional Counselors and other staff;

May provide Critical Incident Stress Management/Debriefing, as required;

Attends, participates at and chairs meetings in the absence of the mental health program head;

Plans, develops and revises policies and procedures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of an agency’s mental health program;

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

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

Screens clients with mental and emotional disorders to determine the most appropriate initial course of action with regard to treatment;

Assesses clients with mental and emotional disorders to gather and interpret information necessary for planning treatment and evaluating progress;

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 client in crisis;

Provides mental health-related education and teaches life skills relevant to the recovery process to clients with mental and emotional disorders;

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

Provides group counseling to clients with mental and emotional disorders;

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

Performs other related duties.

Specific educational and experience requirements are set by the agency based on the essential job functions assigned to the position.

A Class Description provides information about the Nature of Work, Examples of Work and General Requirements for a classification in the Management Service or a classification in the Skilled or Professional Service in which all positions have been designated Special Appointments. Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities; Minimum Education and Experience Requirements; Special Requirements; and recruitment and testing procedures are set by the using agency. Class descriptions broadly define 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.

Jan 1 2008 12:00AM

Director, Division of Classification and Salary