Counselor / Athletics Mental Health Specialist

The Counselor / Athletics Mental Health Specialist is a 12-month position that provides counseling services to Davidson College students, with a focus on scholar-athletes. This individual delivers counseling and crisis services, relevant training, consultation, and educational outreach to student-athletes, coaches, and athletics department staff, and interacts as needed with scholar-athletes, parents, department personnel, faculty, deans, and campus counseling services to provide quality care.

This position provides clinical services to scholar-athletes in collaboration to enhance their personal, academic, and athletic success, and assists the Director of Counseling Services in developing and implementing the philosophies, policies, and procedures that guide counseling service operations for scholar-athletes. In performing duties, this position demonstrates integrity, strong communication skills, effective conflict management, awareness of potential safety concerns, a collaborative approach, sound decision-making and problem-solving skills, a commitment to quality service, adaptability, and openness to supervision and feedback.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the Director of Counseling Services, the individual in this position is responsible for, but not limited to, the following duties:

Counseling Services

• Counsel individuals and groups regarding personal, social, career, and academic development.
• Provide crisis intervention services, including screening, consultation, and safety assessment.
• Provide crisis management, triage, and walk-in emergency services.
• Conduct evaluations for student-athletes in individual and group settings.
• Provide counseling and limited follow-up services as needed, and make referrals to other providers and agencies as appropriate.
• Maintain appropriate clinical records in accordance with legal, ethical, and departmental standards.
• Consult with parents, department personnel, physicians, faculty, deans, campus counseling services, and other individuals when appropriate to provide quality care.
• Consult and collaborate closely with the Associate Director of Sports Performance and Mental Fitness, the Director of Sports Performance, and Sports Medicine staff, including athletic trainers and team physicians.
• Attend and participate in clinical staff meetings, and attend other staff meetings as requested.

Outreach, Prevention, and Education

• Design and deliver mental health education and prevention programming for student-athletes and teams, addressing topics such as stress, performance pressure, injury and transition, substance use, disordered eating, and help-seeking.
• Provide training to coaches, athletic trainers, and athletics staff on recognizing and responding to student-athletes in distress and making effective referrals.
• Support mental health screening initiatives for student-athletes consistent with NCAA mental health best practices.

Program Development and Administration

• In collaboration with the Director of Counseling Services, develop, implement, and periodically review policies and procedures for athletics counseling services, including referral pathways, emergency action planning for mental health, and confidentiality and information-sharing protocols.
• Work with the Director of Counseling Services to serve as the primary liaison between Counseling Services and the Athletics Department, fostering an integrated, interdisciplinary model of care.
• Collect and report utilization and outcome data to the Director of Counseling Services to inform service planning and demonstrate impact.
• Stay current with NCAA guidance, legislation, and best practices related to student-athlete mental health.

Professional Development and Other Duties

• Participate in clinical supervision, case consultation, and continuing education to maintain licensure and clinical competence.
• Contribute to broader Counseling Services and Center for Student Health and Well-Being initiatives, including after-hours or on-call coverage as assigned.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Masters degree or higher in clinical mental health counseling, social work, clinical or counseling psychology, or a closely related field.
• Licensed or license-eligible as a mental health professional in North Carolina (e. g., LCMHC, LCSW, or licensed psychologist), with full licensure obtained within an established timeframe of hire.
• Clinical experience providing individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, and risk assessment, preferably with college-age populations.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate within interdisciplinary teams and navigate confidentiality appropriately across multiple stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience providing clinical services to athletes, ideally within an NCAA Division I setting.
• Personal or professional background in athletics and familiarity with athletic culture and the demands placed on student-athletes.
• Training or certification in sport and performance psychology (e. g., Certified Mental Performance Consultant, CMPC.
• Experience designing and delivering outreach and training programs.
• Demonstrated commitment to culturally responsive practice with diverse student populations.

Working Conditions

• This position works primarily in an office setting within the Center for Student Health and Well-Being and in athletics facilities.
• Some evening and weekend availability may be required to accommodate team schedules, outreach programming, and crisis response.

Information about how to submit an application can be found at employment.davidson.edu.

Davidson is a highly selective, nationally ranked, residential liberal arts college located in Davidson, North Carolina, near Charlotte. We seek to hire talented faculty and staff who are committed to achieving excellence within an inclusive community where diverse backgrounds and perspectives are valued.