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Duke Health
Durham, North Carolina

Behavioral Health Therapist Crisis Triage

CounselorIncludes callIncludes weekendsFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

About Duke University Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which is consistently ranked among the best in the United States. The largest of Duke Health's four hospitals with 1062 patient beds, it features comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center, an endo-surgery center, and more.

$5000.00 Commitment Bonus for External Candidates paid over 1 year

General Description of the Job Class

Provide psychosocial assessments, diagnosis, and psychotherapy treatment. It is an expectation to maintain a patient panel as outlined by departmental or team leadership with at least 80% of time dedicated to direct patient care. Scope of role, working schedule, and location may adjust with business need.

Duties and Responsibilities of This Level

  • Provide psychosocial assessments of patients and families to identify emotional, social, and environmental strengths and problems related to their diagnosis, illness, treatment, and/or life situation.
  • Formulate, develop, and implement a comprehensive psychosocial treatment plan utilizing appropriate treatments and interventions.
  • Interventions may include crisis intervention, individual, marital, family and/or group therapies.
  • Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance use problems in patients.
  • May participate in on-call or after-hours coverage.
  • Provide consultative services to health care team members within scope of care definitions as needed.
  • Maintain a working knowledge of relevant medical/legal issues that impact patient care.
  • Provide education to patients and loved ones around issues related to adaptation to the patient's diagnosis, illness, treatment and/or life situation.
  • Participate in multi-disciplinary healthcare teams and provide leadership in representing clinical perspective.
  • May provide teaching and training for staff and faculty.
  • Contribute to the academic mission of the health system by participating in academic activities.
  • Maintain working knowledge of and liaison with community agencies and resources.
  • Knowledge of health system resources to access and provide for patient care needs.
  • Document assessment, plan, interactions, and interventions according to departmental, hospital and/or health system guidelines and standards.
  • Maintain records in accordance with department, hospital, medical center and/or health system policies.
  • Attend and participate in staff, committee, department, and other administrative meetings.
  • Participate in department and/or health system continuous quality improvement.
  • Keep current with license requirements and seek to increase further enhancement of job-related knowledge.
  • Adhere to onsite and/or hybrid availability for work policies as outlined by direct supervisor.

Required Qualifications at this Level

Education

  • Master's degree in human services/sciences from an accredited school.
  • Doctorate degree in human services will be acknowledged.

Experience

Two years of outpatient psychotherapy experience as a fully licensed, autonomous clinician. Experience working as a licensed therapist in a medical setting and/or in a team-based community program is preferred.

Degrees, Licensure, And/or Certification

  • Current licensure as a licensed LCSW, LMFT, and/or LCMHC
  • LCAS is preferred as a secondary license.
  • Outpatient Behavioral Health Therapist

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

  • Adherence to the practice standards and ethical guidelines of licensing board.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • A solid knowledge of clinical practice.
  • Excellent assessment, interviewing, and counseling skills with expertise in mental health and substance use areas.
  • Excellent working knowledge of psychopathology.
  • Familiarity with range of therapeutic interventions.
  • Must recognize when to escalate care/refer for further medical assessment.
  • Ability to work effectively and autonomously in a self-directed role.
  • Flexibility in accepting diverse work assignments and managing stress related to change.
  • Proficient in utilizing an Electronic Health Record (i. e. Epic experience preferred).
  • Ability to resolve/manage conflict.
  • Ability to help implement departmental, hospital and/or DUHS initiatives.

Distinguishing Characteristics of this Level

N/A

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends onthe robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes.

To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.

Key Responsibilities

The therapist will provide psychosocial assessments, diagnosis, and psychotherapy treatment while maintaining a patient panel. They are responsible for developing comprehensive treatment plans and participating in multi-disciplinary healthcare teams.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a Master's degree in human services or a related field and possess at least two years of outpatient psychotherapy experience. A valid clinical license such as LCSW, LMFT, or LCMHC is required.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Psychosocial assessmentMental health diagnosisSubstance use treatmentConflict managementTreatment planningPatient educationInterdisciplinary collaborationCase management

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 58% are remote, 28% have no call, 72% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for North Carolina is 94.3 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 59.2% of North Carolina clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Counselor Jobs

39 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution32 jobs · 25 employers

16
<$75k
8
$75k-95k
4
$95k-115k
4
$115k-135k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks32 jobs · 25 employers

401k / retirement match
91%
Sign-on bonus
34% this job
CME allowance
25%
Loan repayment
22%
PSLF eligible
16%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist - LICSW/LPCC/LMFT

LifeStance Health · Saint Louis Park, Minnesota

$74k-$126k
#2

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

LifeStance Health · Milwaukee, Wisconsin

$92k-$125k
#3

Licensed Mental Health Therapist (LMFT, LMHC, LCSW)

$115k-$120k
#4

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

$115k-$120k
+ 37 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 8,002 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes call
  • Includes weekends

Living in Durham

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$363k
Typical market rent
$1,659/mo
Residents’ average commute
22 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
97.6
State income tax
Up to 4.8%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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

Duke Health logo

About Duke Health

Hospitals and Health Care
Durham, North Carolina
1,001-5,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

$5,000 commitment bonus
Comprehensive benefits package