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Charles River Recovery
Weston, Massachusetts

Bachelors' Primary Counselor

Addiction CounselorFull-Time

Listed compensation

$55K–$60K

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

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

Posted 3mo ago

Job Description

Position Overview:

The Therapist plans, directs and coordinates medically approved programs for patients in hospitals, substance abuse facilities, or other institutions. Inspires and motivates Charles River Recovery clients and to help them develop tools to work toward recovery using evidence-based and person-centered practices.

Specific Responsibilities

  • Evaluate clients’ mental and physical health, addiction, or problem behavior and assess their readiness for treatment utilizing evidence-based approaches (CBT, DBT, MI, trauma-informed care)
  • Help clients develop treatment goals and plans
  • Review and recommend treatment options with clients and their families
  • Participate in patient interventions such as leaving against medical advice, acute psychiatric or substance related crises.
  • Complete Clinical Documentation as assigned; Biopsychosocial assessment, Treatment Plans, Suicide Risk Screening and Risk Assessments, etc.
  • Lead daily psychoeducation and process Groups for recovery continuity and service delivery.
  • Work with clients to identify behaviors or situations that interfere with their recovery
  • Teach families about addiction or behavior disorders and help them develop strategies to cope with those problems while completing Family Therapy sessions.
  • Refer clients to other resources and services, such as job placement services and support groups
  • Conduct outreach programs to help people identify the signs of addiction and other destructive behavior, as well as steps to take to avoid such behavior
  • Perform any other job-related duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in Social Work or clinical psychology, psychology, rehabilitative counseling and a minimum of 2 years of related experience required OR
  • Master’s degree in Social Work or Mental Health Counseling OR
  • Licensure as an LADCII, LADC1, LMHC, LCSW, LICSW or Ph.D. in Psychology is preferred.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.
  • Excellent organizational skills with the ability to prioritize workload and meet deadlines.
  • Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
  • Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Proven ability to handle multiple projects under pressure.
  • Must have strong knowledge of a variety of computer software applications in word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
  • Understanding of diverse cultures and gender specific issues and the ability to incorporate needs of gender and culturally diverse groups into the organization.
  • Understands need for and maintains appropriate confidentiality at all times when interacting with patients, residents, families, visitors, referral sources and all other contacts.
  • Exhibits excellent customer relation skills as evidenced by supportive and constructive communication with all contacts including coworkers, patients, residents, visitors, families and referral sources.
  • Knowledge of case management for dual diagnosis patient.

Competencies

  • Customer Service: Demonstrates concern for meeting internal and external customers’ needs in a manner that provides satisfaction for the customer within the resources that can be made available.
  • Problem Solving: Identifies problems, involves others in seeking solutions, conducts appropriate analyses, searches for best solutions; responds quickly to new challenges.
  • Communication Proficiency: Comfortable using a broad range of communication styles, and ability to choose appropriate, effective ways to communicate to different audiences in diverse situations.
  • Project Management: Coordinates the diverse components of the project by balancing scope, time, cost and quality.

Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls.

The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move objects up to 25 pounds.

Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Travel: Travel is primarily local during the business day, although some out-of-the-area and overnight travel may be expected.

Sun-Thurs

Key Responsibilities

The counselor evaluates clients' mental health and addiction needs to develop and implement evidence-based treatment plans. They also facilitate daily psychoeducation groups, conduct family therapy, and provide crisis intervention support.

Requirements

Candidates must hold at least a Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Psychology, or a related field with a minimum of 2 years of experience. Professional licensure such as LADC, LMHC, or LCSW is preferred, along with strong communication and organizational skills.

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Treatment planning

Addiction Medicine — Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Addiction Medicine listings this role was benchmarked against, 78% are remote, 36% have no call, 64% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Massachusetts is 105.8 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$58k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $54k in an average-cost state. 63.2% of Massachusetts clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

How many Addiction Medicine jobs are remote?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Work-life score6.6 / 10 · top 25% in addiction medicine (counseling)ranked against 1,106 Addiction Medicine (Counseling) listingslisting-based score, 0–10
Listed pay$55k–$60kAddiction Medicine median $75k (middle half $68k–$86k)13 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$54k in purchasing powerMassachusetts index 105.8 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Addiction Medicine listings in Massachusetts26 active1,109 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 78% remote · 36% no call · 64% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedMassachusetts counselor listings (all specialties): 12% state a sign-on bonus (median $3k) · 15% offer loan repayment514 active listings, Nov 2026
New Addiction Medicine listings432 in the last 30 days231 the 30 days before (+87%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Addiction Medicine pay trend−3.8% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index (1,106 Addiction Medicine (Counseling) listings), BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Bachelors' Primary Counselor at Charles River Recovery a 6.6 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the top 25% in Addiction Medicine (Counseling) — ranked against 1,106 active Addiction Medicine (Counseling) listings on WeekdayDoc.

Top Counselor Jobs

45 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

45 jobs · 21 employers
10
<$80k
4
$80k-95k
8
$95k-110k
18
$110k-125k
5
$125k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

41 jobs · 21 employers
401k / retirement match
93%
Sign-on bonus
44%
CME allowance
22%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Licensed Mental Health Therapist

LifeStance Health · Lake Oswego, Oregon

$123k-$141k
#2

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

LifeStance Health · West Linn, Oregon

$123k-$141k
#3

Licensed Mental Health Therapist (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC)

$117k-$134k
#4

Licensed Mental Health Clinician (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC)

$117k-$134k
+ 43 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 5.1this job 6.6
Better work-life than 80% of Addiction Medicine (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,106 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Charles River Recovery logo

About Charles River Recovery

Hospitals and Health Care
Weston, Massachusetts
51-200 employees

Living in Weston

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$1.50M≈ 27.3× annual pay
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.3
State income tax
Up to 5%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026).

BEA 2024 · Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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