Child Serve logo
Child Serve
Iowa City, Iowa

Mental Health Therapist (Part-Time)

CounselorNo weekendsPart-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

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

Posted 3mo ago

Job Description

We are seeking a Licensed Mental Health Therapist (Part-Time) to work in our outpatient therapy clinic. The ideal candidate will possess a trauma and family-oriented approach and will have experience with children/ adolescents and experience or willingness to work with families of children with special healthcare needs.

As a nonprofit organization, we also participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Schedule: Monday-Friday, part-time

Typical business hours

Office based position

What You’ll Do

Provide comprehensive mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment services for pediatric clients and their families.

Focus on family partnership and the social and emotional needs of the child to help them experience hope and build resiliency in their lives.

Provide complete, thorough, ongoing assessment of children and families via guidelines, including psychosocial and treatment needs.

Develop focused treatment plans that identify specific, measurable objectives, performance goals, and interventions.

What You’ll Need

  • Required: Current Licensed Independent Social Worker, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Marital and Family Therapist, or Licensed Psychologist
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Demonstrated a high level of ethics.
  • Flexibility and adaptability within an evolving service and processes
  • Experience with children & adolescents preferred.
  • Play Therapy, EMDR, PCIT training or willingness to get trained.
  • Ability to read, write, and speak the English language.

Ability to lift up to 35 lbs, be mobile within the assigned work area, and frequently bend, lift, reach, and stand.

Not sure if you hit 100% of the position expectations? Let's talk! Reach out to our Talent Acquisition team by emailing Careers@childserve.org.

Why ChildServe?

ChildServe has earned the title of Top Workplace every year since 2014. Here’s why employees love working here:

Our work matters. We partner with families to help children with special healthcare needs live a great life.

We’re not your average non-profit. We serve 5,800 children each year through over 30 specialty pediatric services in the Ames, Des Moines, and Iowa City areas. Many of our programs are one-of-a-kind.

Our team members rock. Our teams are filled with people who care about their coworkers, and who believe that collaboration is key to providing exceptional care to children.

Our learning never stops. As a non-profit dedicated to innovation, we’re proud to help many team members gain new certifications, continue their education, take their expertise to the next level, and find new opportunities to advance their career right here at ChildServe.

We believe our differences make us great. We are on a continuous journey to create an environment where different perspectives are valued, and all feel safe and welcome.

We’re moving forward together. Experts across multiple disciplines work together to help kids get the best care possible.

Ready to leave work every day knowing you’ve made a difference for kids and families? Let’s move Forward Together - apply today!

ChildServe is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Key Responsibilities

Provide comprehensive mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment services for pediatric clients and their families. Develop focused treatment plans with measurable objectives to build resiliency and support social and emotional needs.

Requirements

Must hold a current license as an LISW, LMHC, LMFT, or Psychologist. Experience with children and adolescents is preferred, along with a willingness to be trained in Play Therapy, EMDR, or PCIT.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Treatment PlanningTrauma-Informed CarePediatric TherapyCrisis InterventionClinical Documentation

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Mental Health Therapist (Part-Time) at Child Serve 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 8,002 active Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements.

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 48% are remote, 30% have no call, 70% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Iowa is 87.8 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 59.8% of Iowa clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Counselor Jobs

36 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution28 jobs · 25 employers

12
<$75k
6
$75k-95k
3
$95k-115k
4
$115k-135k
3
$135k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks26 jobs · 25 employers

401k / retirement match
92%
CME allowance
38%
Sign-on bonus
31%
Loan repayment
23% this job
PSLF eligible
19% this job

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Virtual School Based CounselorContract

Lets Therapy · Springfield, Pennsylvania

$66 per hour
#2

Remote Licensed Professional Counselor-VirginiaContract

Adjuvant Behavior Health · Virginia Beach, Virginia

$66/hr
#3

Licensed Mental Health Counselor (Bilingual)

$65/hr
#4

Licensed Mental Health Therapist (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC)

$117k-$134k
+ 34 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 8,002 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends

Living in Iowa City

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$296k
Typical market rent
$1,270/mo
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
91.5
State income tax
Up to 6%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026).

BEA 2024 · Iowa City, IA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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

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About Child Serve

Hospitals and Health Care
Johnston, IA
501-1,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Public Service Loan Forgiveness