Native Health logo
Native Health
Mesa, Arizona

Substance Use/Behavioral Health Counselor

CounselorFull-Time

Listed compensation

$71k-$88k

Listing transparency2 of 6 stated

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations and weekend coverage.

Employment & setting
Full-Time
Call expectations
Not specified
Weekends
Not specified
Posted 1 day ago · Verified live

Job Description

Company Description

At NATIVE HEALTH, we strive to provide the best health care available for urban American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other individuals who generally experience barriers to health and wellness services.

Mission: To provide accessible holistic patient centered care, to empower our community to achieve the highest quality health and well-being.

Vision: Healthy People in Healthy Communities.

NATIVE HEALTH Benefits and Perks Include

  • Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance
  • Retirement Benefits - Up to 5% Matching Contribution
  • Paid Time Off/Sick Leave
  • Paid Holidays (12)
  • Tuition Reimbursement and Educational Leave
  • Employee Recognition Program
  • Starting Salary
  • Associate Counselor: $71,260 - $76,044
  • Licensed Counselor: $83,158 - $87,900

Job Description

The Substance Use Counselor serves as a member of a multi-disciplinary substance use patient care team. The Counselor provides direct patient and therapeutic counseling services with a focus on substance use and general mental health to individuals, families, and groups.

Work performance is reviewed for conformance to policies, procedures, and practices related to substance use and behavioral health service delivery.

The Substance Use Counselor will represent the company professionally and positively to enhance and promote the core values and the mission of NATIVE HEALTH, always exercising the utmost discretion, diplomacy, and tact in customer interactions.

The SUD Counselor reports directly to the Recovery Service Coordinator for clinical oversight and supervision.

Key Accountabilities

Assesses and provides appropriate therapeutic substance use counseling services for individuals, families, and/or groups presenting with problems related to general mental health and/or substance abuse, that are within the scope of the Counselor’s license, education, and skills.

Provides Substance use and behavioral health related prevention/education services to the community in a cost effective and efficient manner.

  • Provides accurate and timely documentation, billing, and program audit support.
  • Actively participates in case staffing meetings and peer review sessions.
  • Collaborate with the care team and other internal and external health care providers for shared patients to facilitate patient care and follow-up, while promoting the healthcare home mission in all aspects of service delivery.
  • Supports the organization as needed

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE/REQUIREMENTS:

An Active and unrestricted AZBBHE licensure as a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW), Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC), Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (LAMFT), Licensed Associate Addiction Counselor (LAAC) is required.

An Active and unrestricted AZBBHE licensure as a Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Professional Counselor (LPC), or Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), or Licensed Independent Addiction Counselor (LIAC) preferred.

Three years of specialized experience in substance abuse with diverse populations is strongly preferred. Experience working with underserved populations is also highly preferred.

Bilingual in Spanish is preferred. Fluency evaluation is required.

Standard Employment Requirements

Must possess a valid and unrestricted Arizona driver’s license (within 30 days of hire if applicant is from out-of-state) with no DUI/DWI or reckless driving convictions in the last five years. No more than two at-fault accidents in the last three years. Must maintain a valid Arizona driver’s license during employment. Must be insurable under NATIVE HEALTH’s liability auto policy.

Must pass a criminal background check and obtain a Class I Fingerprint Clearance Card within the initial ninety (90) calendar days of employment and retain a valid card while employed with NATIVE HEALTH.

  • Must pass substance abuse testing upon employment and submit to random testing during employment.
  • Must provide an updated immunization (IZ) record at the time of employment.

Must have a current (within 12 months) Tuberculosis (TB) skin report upon employment and provide an annual update.

Must obtain BLS certification within (90) calendar days of employment and maintain certification during employment.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

The following factors are essential to this position, and to minimally qualify, applicants must provide evidence in their resumes that they possess these required factors:

Knowledge of principles, techniques and trends in counseling, psychotherapy, clinical case management, and various treatment modalities.

Knowledge of principles and techniques of mental health and substance use education, prevention, and crisis intervention.

  • Ability to deliver strong clinical services to individuals, families, and/or groups.
  • Model professionalism, integrity, and ethical principles at all times.
  • Ability to accomplish the quality and quantity of work expected within set limits of cost and time.
  • Ability to plan own work and carry out assignments effectively and completely.

Must have strong listening, written, and oral communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly with patients, providers, and staff.

Ability to establish rapport and gain the confidence of others (providers, case managers, primary care team, patients and associates).

Must be able to work with confidential material without betraying the trust of patients, families, or the agency- in accordance with HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 regulations, as well as agency policies.

  • Ability to assess quality of patient care and make improvements, as needed.
  • Knowledge and competence in supporting the cultural, social, and economic backgrounds of a diverse service population with traditionally underserved needs.
  • Knowledge of mental health and substance use issues of the diverse populations served.
  • Knowledge of existing social and behavioral health resources available for patient care.

Knowledge of and skills to provide brief intervention counseling focused on adults and/or children with general mental health and/or substance abuse challenges.

Remains current and timely completes all assigned Relias trainings and other training related to the health promotion and disease prevention of the persons served in the program.

Proficient with computer-based applications such as MS Office, Adobe, and electronic health record.

Additional Information

Native Health complies with all state and federal requirements, including EEOC requirements.

Key Responsibilities

The counselor provides direct therapeutic services to individuals, families, and groups focusing on substance use and mental health. They also collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team to facilitate patient care and ensure accurate documentation and billing.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Patient assessmentInterdisciplinary collaborationElectronic health recordsCultural competence

Addiction Medicine — Counselor Career Context

Native Health ranks #9 of 18 employers hiring Counselor on WeekdayDoc by average advertised pay.

Of the 50 active Substance Use / Addiction Counselor listings this role was benchmarked against, 36% are remote, 26% have no call, 74% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Arizona is 100.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$80k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $79k in an average-cost state. 60.3% of Arizona clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Counselor Jobs

29 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution29 jobs · 21 employers

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

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks26 jobs · 21 employers

401k / retirement match
85% this job
CME allowance
46%
Sign-on bonus
42%
Loan repayment
19% this job
Relocation assistance
4%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

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

LifeStance Health · Madison, Wisconsin

$92k-$125k
#2

Remote Licensed Talk Therapist - Fee For Service

Thriveworks · Massachusetts

$124k
#3

Licensed Talk Therapist - Fee For Service

$124k
#4

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

$115k-$120k
+ 27 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.1this job 3.0
Higher than about 2 in 10 of 1,299 Addiction Medicine (Counseling) listings

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

Living in Mesa

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$417k
Typical market rent
$1,538/mo
Residents’ average commute
25 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
103.3
State income tax
Up to 2.5%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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

Native Health logo

About Native Health

Hospitals and Health Care
Phoenix, Arizona
51-200 employees

Benefits & Perks

Medical Insurance
Vision Insurance
Dental Insurance
Retirement Benefits - Up to 5% Matching Contribution
Paid Time Off/Sick Leave
Paid Holidays (12)
Tuition Reimbursement and Educational Leave
Employee Recognition Program