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Kaiser Permanente
Vancouver, Washington

Therapist, Mental Health (FT, Days)

CounselorIncludes callFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

Provide high quality health care to Kaiser Permanente members in a cost-effective manner and in accordance with accepted professional practice standards.

Essential Responsibilities

Provide high quality health care through direct screening, diagnosis and formulation/implementation of treatment plan for mental health patients (may include depression, anxiety, marital conflicts, etc., in individuals, couples, families or groups).

Document in writing all care in patients permanent medical record in accordance with accepted medical/legal standards. Provide all care in accordance with accepted practice standards and hospital/clinic protocols (including supervision by a physician).

Provide case management through appropriate triaging and referrals, reporting to other providers, telephone contact with patients and their families, and contact with outside agencies.

  • Consult with other department providers regarding treatment plans.
  • Perform other duties as requested.

Basic Qualifications

  • Experience
  • Two (2) years of clinical experience.

Education

  • Masters level degree or higher required (M.S.W., M.S., M.A., M. Ed.)
  • License, Certification, Registration

This job requires credentials from multiple states. Credentials from the primary work state are required at hire. Additional Credentials from the secondary work state(s) are required post hire.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Oregon) within 6 months of hire AND Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (Washington) within 6 months of hire

  • OR
  • Professional Counselor License (Oregon) within 6 months of hire AND Mental Health Counselor License (Washington) within 6 months of hire
  • OR
  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (Washington) within 6 months of hire AND Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (Oregon) within 6 months of hire
  • OR
  • Psychologist License (Washington) AND Psychologist License (Oregon) within 6 months of hire
  • National Provider Identifier required at hire

Additional Requirements

Thorough knowledge of psychosocial diagnostic categories and treatment approaches including evidence-based treatment modalities, suicide assessment, and therapeutic crisis intervention

  • Working knowledge of legal requirements for reporting abuse and homicidal threats
  • Quickly and accurately assess, diagnose and develop treatment plans
  • Intervene and effectively treat emergent problems involving mental health functioning
  • Strong interpersonal communication and problem solving skills

Rapidly establish rapport with a diverse population of patients presenting with a wide range of psychiatric, social and emotional difficulties

Process and communicate in a manner that is sensitive and appropriate to the cultural, linguistic and psychological needs of patients, families and other healthcare team members.

Function effectively as a member of an interdisciplinary team and to collaborate well with other disciplines despite potential disagreements or conflict.

  • Remain calm and use appropriate skills to defuse potentially violent or aggressive situations
  • In the event of patient suicide, the resilience to manage emotional impact, ability to evaluate clinical assessment and treatment plan decisions, and integrate new learning.
  • Identify and respond to chances in policies, regulations, and procedures which can impact the patient.
  • Ability to use electronic medical record.

Ability to access, diagnose and treat child and adult mental health patients. Individual, couple, family and group therapy skills required.

Preferred Qualifications

Thorough and working knowledge of psychological diagnostic categories and evidenced based treatment approaches.

  • Working knowledge of relevant outcome measures.
  • Familiarity with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
  • Working knowledge of legal requirements for reporting abuse, homicidal threats, involuntary hospitalization, etc.
  • Thorough and working knowledge of ethical guidelines and behaviors for therapists.

Ability to access, diagnose and treat child and adult mental health patients. Individual, couple, family and group therapy skills required.

  • Ability to manage a large caseload, and to interface with large provider and support staff.
  • Efficient use of electronic medical record.
  • Proficient electronic mail communication skills.
  • Proficient computer skills in windows applications.
  • Knowledge of Co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency disorders.

Key Responsibilities

Provide high-quality mental health care through screening, diagnosis, and the implementation of treatment plans for individuals, couples, and families. Manage patient cases through triaging, referrals, and collaboration with an interdisciplinary team while maintaining accurate medical records.

Requirements

Requires a Master's degree or higher and at least two years of clinical experience. Candidates must hold or be eligible for specific state licenses in Oregon and Washington.

Qualifications

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

Key Skills

Mental health diagnosisTreatment planningPsychosocial assessmentIndividual therapyFamily therapyInterdisciplinary collaborationClinical documentationTriage

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 40% are remote, 28% have no call, 62% require no weekends.

Mental Health Therapy pay on WeekdayDoc is up 2.2% vs. the prior quarter (through Aug 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Washington is 107.0 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 59.8% of Washington clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Location & Logistics

Washington has no state income tax, which can significantly increase take-home pay compared to high-tax states.

Top Counselor Jobs

50 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution50 jobs · 39 employers

14
<$90k
10
$90k-110k
12
$110k-130k
14
$130k-150k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks35 jobs

401k / retirement match
94% this job
CME allowance
46%
Sign-on bonus
34%
Loan repayment
31%
PSLF eligible
11%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

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$60-$70/hr
#2

Psychotherapist Outpatient Clinic – LCSW / LMHC / LMFT/Full-Time Employment/Signing Bonus 5000USDContract

Harmony United Psychiatric Care · Winter Garden, Florida

$60-$70/hr
#3

Senior Clinical Programs Counselor

$44.35-$68.86/hr
#4

Clinical Director (LICSW, LMHC, LMFT) - Community-Based Mental Health 267

$96k-$142k
+ 48 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.4this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 7,933 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes call

Living in Vancouver

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$476k
Typical market rent
$1,828/mo
Residents’ average commute
23 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
105.4
State income tax
None
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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