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VCU Health
Richmond, Virginia

Licensed Behavioral Health Clinician- Child & Adolescent Autism Specialty Care- Hybrid

Counselor / TherapistFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 5mo ago

Job Description

We are seeking a Licensed Behavioral Health Clinician with BCBA certification to help provide specialized support to children & adolescents in the outpatient setting. This team member will provide crucial outpatient therapy, conduct functional behavior assessments, develop behavior plans and offer caregiver support. This team member will also contribute to program development, workflow planning and staff support to ensure high-quality, sustainable services.

BCBA Certification Required

The Licensed Behavior Health Clinician-Child is an independent licensed clinical social worker, professional counselor, psychologist, or clinical nurse specialist that will be responsible for providing outpatient therapy services within the Department of Psychiatry and/or other areas within the health system as needed.

Essential Job functions: Provides initial evaluations and direct outpatient clinical services for the Department of Psychiatry for children and adolescents. Provides psychotherapy to patients in conjunction with care provided by department psychiatrists, physicians, psychologists, and nurse practitioners.

Develops clinical treatment plans with patient input, understanding and agreement toward clearly stated goals. Utilizes the most current diagnostic and statistics manual for mental health disorders to provide accurate diagnosis.

Completes clinical documentation noting progress toward treatment goals following each patient encounter. Maintains compliance with all VCUHS policies and procedures governing clinical care delivery and documentation. Collaborates as part of an interdisciplinary team to meet the needs of the patients served.

Facilitates patient referrals to other departmental resources or to community resources as appropriate. Performs other duties as assigned and/or participates in special projects in order to support the mission of VCUHS and the Department. Provides assistance to team members.

Accepts alternate assignments, as required, graciously. Patient Population: Demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to provide equitable care appropriate to the age of the patients served on their assigned unit.

Pediatrics (1-12 years), Adolescents (13-17 years) Employment Qualifications: Required Education: Masters or Doctoral level education in the field of psychology, social work, counseling, or nursing from an accredited program Preferred Education: N/A Licensure/Certification Required: Licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a Professional Counselor, Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Social Worker or Clinical Nurse Specialist Licensure/Certification Preferred: N/A Minimum Qualifications: Required Qualifications: Minimum of three (3) years post licensure experience providing initial psychiatric evaluations and psychotherapy in an outpatient setting Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required: Must be able to independently evaluate patients, formulate an accurate differential diagnosis, develop, and implement an appropriate course of treatment.

Cultural Responsiveness: Demonstrates a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors, and proactively managing bias.

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred: Experience working with child, adolescents, and their families Working Conditions: Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur. Physical Requirements: Physical Demands: Lifting/ Carrying (0-50 lbs); Push/Pull (0-50 lbs.)

Work Position: Sitting, Walking, Standing Additional Physical Requirements/ Hazards: Physical Requirements: Reach above shoulder Mental/Sensory - Emotional: Mental/Sensory: Strong Recall, Reasoning, Problem solving, Hearing, Speak clearly, Write legibly, Reading, Logical Thinking Emotional: Fast-paced environment, Able to handle multiple priorities, Frequent and intense customer interactions, Noisy environment, Able to adapt to frequent change Days EEO Employer/Disabled/Protected Veteran

Who We Are

Inventing better care, day by day by discovery Sound outrageous? It absolutely is. Sound impossible? That’s never stopped us before. Sound like hard work, intense research, collaboration with experts around the world, sheer brainpower meets unrelenting willpower? That’s. Exactly. Right. We’ll do whatever it takes to offer the best in care and empower the best in quality of life. And it’s an approach that works — whether it’s a patient who undergoes a new, life-saving procedure or a clinical researcher who finds promise in a new cancer treatment, exciting new medicine is happening at VCU Health. We have it all:

  • One college and four health sciences schools
  • An academic medical center
  • A Level I trauma center
  • One of only two NCI-designated cancer centers in Virginia
  • The region’s only full-service children’s hospital
  • More than 800 physicians in 200 specialties
  • With a community health center, dedicated research teams, facilities and valued partners in every field Our medical teams are top notch. And we’re not too shy to boast of internationally known physicians, some recognized as the best in the country, top-ranked local specialists and all-around all-stars at every level. From our very first years to our most recent advancements, we are driven to learn more, dig deeper, teach passionately and never rest in order to be a true leader in discovering what’s possible in health and recovery. We are a comprehensive system of care and a pioneer of health. Read VCU Health Year In Review for more about our accomplishments.

Key Responsibilities

Provide specialized outpatient therapy, functional behavior assessments, and behavior plans for children and adolescents with autism. Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team to develop treatment plans and provide caregiver support.

Requirements

Requires a Master's or Doctoral degree in psychology, social work, counseling, or nursing, and BCBA certification. Must be licensed in Virginia with at least three years of post-licensure experience in outpatient psychiatric evaluations and psychotherapy.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Treatment PlanningPatient EvaluationInterdisciplinary Collaboration

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Licensed Behavioral Health Clinician- Child & Adolescent Autism Specialty Care- Hybrid at VCU Health a 7.2 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as very good. This places the position in the top 25% in Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) — ranked against 7,479 active Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings on WeekdayDoc.

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 60% are remote, 26% have no call, 54% require no weekends.

Mental Health Therapy pay on WeekdayDoc is down 1.9% vs. the prior quarter (through Oct 2026).

Mental Health Therapy by the numbers
MeasureThis jobMarket
Work-life score7.2 / 10 · top 25% in mental health therapy (counseling)ranked against 7,479 Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listingslisting-based score, 0–10
Listed paynot listedMental Health Therapy median $93k (middle half $90k–$102k)11 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost of livingVirginia index 101.1US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Mental Health Therapy listings in Virginia261 active7,491 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 60% remote · 26% no call · 54% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedVirginia counselor listings (all specialties): 16% state a sign-on bonus (median $2k) · 12% offer loan repayment414 active listings, Nov 2026
New Mental Health Therapy listings2,561 in the last 30 days1,376 the 30 days before (+86%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Mental Health Therapy pay trend−1.9% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index (7,479 Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings), BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Counselor Jobs

50 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

50 jobs · 39 employers
15
<$90k
17
$90k-110k
9
$110k-130k
9
$130k-150k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

41 jobs · 39 employers
401k / retirement match
93% this job
CME allowance
37% this job
Sign-on bonus
27%
Loan repayment
17%
PSLF eligible
5%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

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#2

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$96k-$149k
#3

Licensed Mental Health Therapist

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+ 48 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 7.2
Better work-life than 80% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 7,479 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Richmond

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$339k
Typical market rent
$1,628/mo
Residents’ average commute
22 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
97.9
State income tax
Up to 5.8%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Richmond, VA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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