THRIVE Wellness and Recovery logo
THRIVE Wellness and Recovery
Watertown, New York

Intake Therapist

CounselorNo weekendsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$29.81-$42.31/hr

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 58m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Schedule: Full-Time: Monday- Friday 8am-5pm, optional 10am-7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Pay Ranges

  • LP $29.81/ hour
  • LMSW/LMHC: $31.25/ hour
  • LCSW: $34.62- $42.31/hour
  • This position is eligible for a $5,000 sign on bonus!

Summary

The Intake Therapist (LCSW, LMSW, LMHC, LMFT) conducts telephonic, written, and face-to-face engagement, assessing treatment-based services to boost program participation for individuals seeking or receiving Mental Health and/or Substance Abuse services at Outpatient (OP) Services.

The Intake Therapist will assist patients with removing barriers to treatment, motivating patients to engage in their health and support them throughout the process.

The Intake Therapist will provide an array of services to persons affected by substance use, mental illness and/or opioid use in a high-volume outpatient setting utilizing integrated treatment theory, principles, and methods in a timely manner.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Maintain Standards that apply to Confidentiality and 42 CFR/HIPAA
  • Must be knowledgeable and able to demonstrate the Canon of Ethics, healthy professional relationships and boundaries with patients and co-workers
  • Have a solid understanding of addictions treatment and regulations
  • Conduct an average of 20 individual billable sessions per week
  • Facilitate a minimum of 2-4 groups per week
  • Clinical services are provided within agency approved best practices and meeting quality expectations.
  • Maintain patient records per OASAS standards and agency policy and procedures
  • Complete all recordkeeping in a timely manner
  • Provide individual and group activity, counseling and didactic sessions
  • Participate in clinical supervision according to scope of practice guidelines

Directly and actively engage, coach, motivate and support individuals via initial phone contact or through open intake process to improve retention and increase potential to be successful in services

Apply master level MSW, MHC or MFT theory, principles and methods to prevent, assess, evaluate, formulate and implement a plan of action based on patient needs and strengths

Engage in the administration of tests and measures of psychosocial functioning, provide patient advocacy internally and externally

Provide comprehensive mental health screenings and initial assessments to medically referred and other patients

Coordinate and collaborate with the patient’s primary care provider and care manager to improve treatment outcomes

Facilitate referrals to other services (e. g., substance abuse treatment, specialty care and community resources) as needed

Convey information inter/intra agency

Work Closely with Supervisor on Challenging Cases

  • Work to meet patient needs effectively and resolve individual barriers through follow-up, advocacy and collaboration with other clinicians and other community service providers
  • Maintain accurate and timely records of all patient-related services and case management notes
  • Provide crisis intervention as needed.
  • Performs other duties as assigned or that may develop.
  • Management has the right to add or change the duties of this position at any time.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION And/or EXPERIENCE

Required: Current valid license or provisional license to legally practice as a LMHC, LMSW or LMFT in New York

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

Must maintain valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record.

Key Responsibilities

The Intake Therapist conducts mental health and substance abuse assessments to facilitate program participation and remove barriers to treatment. They provide individual and group counseling, maintain accurate patient records, and coordinate care with primary providers.

Qualifications

Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Mental health assessmentSubstance abuse counselingTreatment planningClinical documentationMotivational interviewingHIPAA compliancePsychosocial assessmentGroup therapyIndividual counselingReferral coordinationAddiction treatment

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 34% are remote, 34% have no call, 68% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for New York is 107.9 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$75k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $70k in an average-cost state. 64.6% of New York clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Mental Health Therapy by the numbers
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$62k–$88kMental Health Therapy median $67k (middle half $52k–$84k)34 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$70k in purchasing powerNew York index 107.9 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Mental Health Therapy listings in New York315 active7,868 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 34% remote · 34% no call · 68% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Counselor Jobs

45 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

45 jobs · 35 employers
17
<$80k
18
$80k-95k
4
$95k-110k
5
$110k-125k
1
$125k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

31 jobs
401k / retirement match
97%
Sign-on bonus
23% this job
CME allowance
19%
PSLF eligible
16%
Loan repayment
10%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT, LPC, LCSW)

LifeStance Health · Milwaukee, Wisconsin

$92k-$125k
#2

Licensed Mental Health Therapist (LMFT, LMHC, LCSW)

Gotham Enterprises · Davie, Florida

$115k-$120k
#3

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

$115k-$120k
#4

NY Licensed DBT Therapist - DBT Master’s or Doctoral - Telehealth - Full-Time

$93k-$120k
+ 43 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 3.9
Better work-life than 30% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 7,863 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends
THRIVE Wellness and Recovery logo

About THRIVE Wellness and Recovery

Mental Health Care
Reno, Nevada
51-200 employees

Benefits & Perks

$5,000 sign-on bonus

Living in Watertown

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$203k
Typical market rent
$1,565/mo
Residents’ average commute
16 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
87.7
State income tax
Up to 10.9%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.