Casa Serena logo
Casa Serena
Santa Barbara, California

Associate Therapist / SUD Counselor

CounselorFull-Time

Listed compensation

$58.2K - $79K

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about call expectations, weekend coverage and nights and shift pattern.

Posted 7mo ago

Job Description

Casa Serena is a women's only residential and outpatient treatment center. We are currently looking to add creative, compassionate, and innovative individuals to the team in the position of Associate Therapist or Substance Use Counselor!

As Santa Barbara's only licensed and accredited treatment program for women, we deliver high quality integral care in a collaborative team environment. Our unique curriculum is designed to help women and staff flourish. We offer engaging, culturally sensitive psychoeducation/process groups and love staff collaboration to enhance our curriculum. You will learn how to be confident running groups while we support self-care for our team.

Full Time Benefits

  • 3 weeks of Paid Time Off
  • 90% employer paid medical, dental and vision insurance
  • 401K 10% matching plan
  • Subsidized certification trainings available to enhance your path to licensure.
  • EAP Program
  • Practice your passion and learn new modalities!

Primary Purpose and Function

The Associate Therapist / SUD Counselor provides direct service including individual, couple/family and group psychotherapy, consultations and crisis intervention.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

  • Provide weekly individual therapy with clients
  • Provide weekly family therapy with clients and their family members
  • Facilitate Groups
  • Create and update Treatment Plans
  • Complete Biopsychosocial and other Assessments as needed
  • Collaborate with multidisciplinary team for discharge planning
  • Crisis Intervention
  • EMR Documentation and compliance with TJC Standards and state licensing requirements
  • Other duties as assigned by the Clinical Director and CEO

Requirements

Core Competency (minimum skills, knowledge and experience needed to perform essential functions and responsibilities)

Knowledge of substance use and mental health treatment, family systems and 12 step recovery resources in the community

  • Psychoeducational group facilitation
  • Group Notes
  • Therapeutic interventions

Crisis Management

  • Should possess a professional demeanor and a collaborative spirit.
  • Have a general understanding and/or training in cultural diversity issues.

Minimum Qualifications

  • License or Certification in a related field (AMFT, ACSW, APCC, CADC, CATC, SUDCC) or equivalent
  • Two years of experience in a behavioral health treatment facility, preferable addiction centered.
  • Current professional liability insurance.
  • Ability to communicate clearly, both in writing and verbally with clients, administration.

Key Responsibilities

The Associate Therapist / SUD Counselor is responsible for providing direct services including individual, couple/family, and group psychotherapy, consultations, and crisis intervention for clients. Essential functions involve facilitating weekly individual and family therapy sessions, leading groups, creating treatment plans, completing assessments, and collaborating on discharge planning.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Treatment PlanningBiopsychosocial AssessmentTJC Standards ComplianceSubstance Use Treatment

Addiction Medicine — Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Substance Use / Addiction Counselor listings this role was benchmarked against, 68% are remote, 34% have no call, 54% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$69k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $62k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Associate Therapist / SUD Counselor at Casa Serena a 6.9 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the top 25% in Substance Use / Addiction Counselor — ranked against 1,008 active Substance Use / Addiction Counselor listings on WeekdayDoc.

Top Counselor Jobs

41 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution41 jobs · 24 employers

8
<$90k
14
$90k-105k
8
$105k-120k
11
$120k-135k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks33 jobs · 24 employers

401k / retirement match
97% this job
Sign-on bonus
39%
CME allowance
30%
Loan repayment
15%
PSLF eligible
9%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Clinical Director - LMFT, LCSW, LPCC

Seneca Family of Agencies · Salinas, California

$112k-$126k
#2

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

LifeStance Health · Milwaukee, Wisconsin

$92k-$125k
#3

Licensed Therapist-IBH - Comprehensive Care Center

$104k-$123k
#4

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

$115k-$120k
+ 39 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.1this job 6.9
Better work-life than 80% of Substance Use / Addiction Counselor listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,008 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site

Living in Santa Barbara

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$1.91M
Typical market rent
$3,692/mo
Residents’ average commute
17 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.8
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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

Casa Serena logo

About Casa Serena

Mental Health Care
Santa Barbara, California
11-50 employees

Benefits & Perks

3 Weeks PTO
401K with 10% Match
Health Insurance (90% Employer Paid)
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Subsidized Certification Training
EAP Program