Mental Health Counselor

Counselor 8.3 Work-LifeNo callNo weekendsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$55k-$75k

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

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

Posted 46m ago · Verified live

Job Description

The Iowa Primary Care Association is actively recruiting a Mental Health Counselor to provide care at a community health center (FQHC) in Fort Dodge, IA!

LISW and LMHC all encouraged to apply!

What is a community health center (FQHC)?

The largest source of comprehensive primary care for underserved communities and populations.

With an integrated care model that includes medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services, patients can access comprehensive, coordinated services often under one roof.

Role Details

Hours: 8 a. m.-5 p. m. Monday-Friday; no weekends and open to flexibility to provide occasional evening coverage; no call

  • Sees on average 8 patients per day
  • Provider team includes: 1 PMHNP & 1 LISW/LMHC
  • EHR: Ochin Epic
  • Predominantly adult patients with kids/adolescents still included.

Duties

Provides psychosocial assessment to patients and families to identify emotional, social and environmental strengths and problems related to their diagnosis, illness, treatment and/or life situation for those referred by primary care providers.

Formulates, develops and implements a comprehensive psychosocial treatment plan utilizing appropriate clinical social work and/or counseling treatments and interventions. Interventions may include crisis intervention, brief and long-term individual, marital, and family and/or group therapies.

Provides therapeutic crisis intervention and emergency behavioral health services as required.

Participates in period staff conferences to present case histories; confer with internal external members of therapy team to develop comprehensive evaluations or plan pertinent therapy programs to provide maximum benefits for each patient.

Prepares and maintains a case record for each patient to describe the nature of social problems and services suggested or provided.

Provides education to patients and families around issues related to adaptation to the patient’s diagnosis, illness, treatment and/or life situation.

Maintains working knowledge of and liaison with community agencies and resources.

Benefits

Student Loan Repayment Programs: Eligible for $50,000 in student loan repayment in exchange for 2 years of service through state & federal programs

  • Competitive Salary: starting at $55,000-75,000 based on experience.
  • Wellness Reimbursement Program: Reimburse your monthly gym/fitness/wellness fee up to $25/month.

Comprehensive Insurance: Medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, long-term disability, and flexible spending available.

Paid Time Off: 160 hours for full-time salaried employees + 8 paid holidays (1 additional floating holiday after 6 months of employment)

Retirement Plans: 401k with 5% employer match.

Join us in making a difference in the community while enjoying a rewarding career with excellent benefits and a supportive work environment!

Requirements

Graduation from accredited master’s social work, counseling, marriage/family therapy and/or behavioral health education program.

Licensed as behavioral health professional to practice as LISW or LMHC in Iowa

Key Responsibilities

The counselor will provide psychosocial assessments and develop comprehensive treatment plans for patients referred by primary care providers. They will also conduct individual, marital, family, and group therapy sessions while maintaining accurate case records.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)

Key Skills

Individual TherapyCase ManagementTreatment PlanningPatient Education

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Mental Health Counselor at Iowa Primary Care Association a 8.3 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as excellent. This places the position in the top 10% in Mental Health Counseling — ranked against 693 active Mental Health Counseling listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no on-call duties, no weekend requirements.

Counselor Career Context

Iowa Primary Care Association ranks #6 of 16 employers hiring Counselor on WeekdayDoc by average advertised pay, and holds silver-tier status on the Top Employers work-life index, composite score 80/100, 20 active listings.

Of the 50 active Counselor listings this role was benchmarked against, 36% are remote, 26% have no call, 68% require no weekends.

Counselor pay on WeekdayDoc is up 3.6% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Iowa is 87.8 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$65k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $74k in an average-cost state. 59.8% of Iowa clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Counselor Jobs

27 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution27 jobs · 18 employers

7
<$75k
6
$75k-95k
4
$95k-115k
10
$115k-135k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks27 jobs · 18 employers

401k / retirement match
85% this job
CME allowance
44%
Sign-on bonus
33%
Loan repayment
19% this job
PSLF eligible
4%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Remote Licensed Talk Therapist - Fee For Service

Thriveworks · Massachusetts

$124k
#2

Licensed Talk Therapist - Fee For Service

Thriveworks · Salem, Massachusetts

$124k
#3

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)

$115k-$120k
#4

Licensed Mental Health Therapist (LMFT, LMHC, LCSW)

$115k-$120k
+ 25 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 8.3
Among the best 10% of Mental Health Counseling listings for work-life

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 693 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No call
  • No weekends

Living in Fort Dodge

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$148k≈ 2.7× annual pay
Typical market rent
$835/mo≈ 18% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
19 min
State income tax
Up to 6%
Sources & methodology

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

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Iowa Primary Care Association logo

About Iowa Primary Care Association

Hospitals and Health Care
Des Moines, Iowa
51-200 employees

Benefits & Perks

Student Loan Repayment up to $50,000
Wellness Reimbursement up to $25/month
Medical, Dental, Vision
Life Insurance
Short-term Disability
Long-term Disability
Flexible Spending Account
160 hours PTO