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Sail Future
St. Petersburg, Florida

Mental Health Counselor

CounselorIncludes weekendsNo callFull-Time

Listed compensation

$60k–$80k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting and nights and shift pattern.

Posted 1 day ago · Verified live

Job Description

Mental Health Counselor

Position Summary

The Mental Health Counselor provides clinical leadership and therapeutic services for youth living in SailFuture's residential foster care homes. This role combines direct counseling with clinical supervision, ensuring youth receive high-quality, trauma-informed care while supporting the professional development of the behavioral health team.

In addition to maintaining a reduced caseload of individual, family, and group therapy, the Mental Health Counselor partners with residential staff to create a therapeutic, relationship-centered environment. The role includes participating in family dinners, supporting adventure-based therapy, and providing guidance during critical moments in the daily life of the homes.

The Mental Health Counselor also oversees the behavioral health program during SailFuture's international sailing expeditions, integrating experiential mental health curriculum and therapeutic support while youth sail between Florida, Nova Scotia, and Trinidad & Tobago.

This position is ideal for a clinician who believes healing happens not only in therapy sessions, but through consistent relationships, meaningful experiences, and a supportive community.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Coordinate all therapeutic services for all youth in residential care and independent living program
  • Work in partnership with psychiatrist to monitor and coordinate medication management for all youth in residential care
  • Provide therapeutic house support up to sixteen hours per week
  • Provide 1:1 therapeutic services to 12 youth per week (1-hour session)
  • 6 youth in Waterfront House
  • 6 youth in White House
  • Lead weekly adventure therapy group on weekend day
  • Develop treatment plans in partnership with Residential Change Agents, Program Director, Case Manager, and other stakeholders
  • Provide in-depth assessments to all youth who enter the SailFuture home
  • Provide assessments to all youth at-risk who present self-harming or homicidal behaviors
  • Create initial and master treatment plans and lead 30-day treatment team meetings and 6-month treatment plan reviews
  • Provide training and youth-specific feedback to staff across all teams
  • Coordinate and process medicaid billing for BHOS (Codes: H2020-HA, H0031-HO, H0032, H0032 - TS)
  • Supervise and mentor registered interns.
  • Provide case reviews and ongoing professional development.
  • Review treatment plans, assessments, and clinical documentation to ensure quality and compliance.
  • Provide individual, family, and group therapy.
  • Provide clinical leadership during international sailing expeditions.
  • Provide support 2 weeks per expedition (5 per year) on the sailing vessel Whatever It Takes
  • Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Master's degree or higher in Counseling, Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, Psychology, or a related behavioral health field.

  • Active Florida licensure as an LMHC, LCSW, or LMFT.
  • Qualified Supervisor designation in Florida, or ability to obtain designation.
  • Minimum of five years of clinical experience, preferably serving adolescents in foster care, residential treatment, or behavioral health settings.
  • Previous supervisory or clinical leadership experience preferred.
  • Strong knowledge of trauma-informed care, crisis intervention, and child welfare.
  • Excellent leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.

A passion for serving youth who have experienced significant adversity and helping them build healthy, independent lives.

Compensation & Benefits

  • Annual Salary: Base ($60,000) + Performance Bonus* ($20,000)
  • Performance Bonus is paid out quarterly (up to $5000 per quarter) and determined by performance metrics.
  • $250 monthly health insurance contribution
  • 401(k) with up to 6% employer match
  • 10 days PTO per year (accrual based)
  • Employer-provided laptop and cell phone

Key Responsibilities

The Mental Health Counselor provides clinical leadership and therapeutic services for youth in residential foster care, including individual, family, and group therapy. They also oversee behavioral health programs during international sailing expeditions and supervise clinical staff.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
5+ years of experience

Key Skills

Individual therapyTreatment planningAssessmentMentoringDocumentation compliance

Counselor Career Context

In Florida, the Mental Health Counseling weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$72k (25 salary observations; 95 listings), vs ~$76k nationally (408 salary observations; 1,603 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for Florida is 103.4 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$70k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $68k in an average-cost state. 58.1% of Florida clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

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

Mental Health Counseling pay on WeekdayDoc is up 14.3% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Mental Health Counselor at Sail Future a 6.4 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Mental Health Counseling — ranked against 693 active Mental Health Counseling listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no on-call duties.

Location & Logistics

Florida has no state income tax, which can significantly increase take-home pay compared to high-tax states. At the posted ~$70k midpoint, that is roughly $3k–$5k a year versus a typical 4–7% state rate.

Top Counselor Jobs

37 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution37 jobs · 29 employers

16
<$70k
8
$70k-90k
7
$90k-110k
6
$110k-130k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks30 jobs · 29 employers

401k / retirement match
80% this job
CME allowance
43%
Sign-on bonus
30% this job
Loan repayment
17%
PSLF eligible
3%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Remote Mental Health Counselor (LMFT, LCSW, LMHC)

Gotham Enterprises · Watertown, New York

$115k-$120k
#2

Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)

Gotham Enterprises · Jacksonville, Florida

$115k-$120k
#3

Psychotherapist | Adult Outpatient Behavioral Health

$78k-$119k
#4

Psychotherapist | Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health

$78k-$119k
+ 35 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 6.4
Better work-life than 60% of Mental Health Counseling listings

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

  • No call
  • Includes weekends

Living in St. Petersburg

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$428k≈ 7.1× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,058/mo≈ 41% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
26 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
100.9
State income tax
None
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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

Sail Future logo

About Sail Future

Civic and Social Organizations
St Petersburg, Florida
11-50 employees

Benefits & Perks

401(k) with up to 6% employer match
$250 monthly health insurance contribution
10 days PTO per year
Employer-provided laptop and cell phone
Performance bonus up to $20,000 annually