Odyssey Behavioral Group logo
Odyssey Behavioral Group
Sevierville, Tennessee

Associate Therapist I

CounselorPer Diem

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting

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

Posted 1mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

Job DetailsLevel: ExperiencedJob Location: Sevierville, TN 37862Position Type: Per DiemEducation Level: Graduate DegreeTravel Percentage: NoneJob Shift: DayJob Category: Health CarePosition Summary Associate Therapists provide individual, family and group therapy sessions for clients in a residential mental health treatment setting, under the supervision of fully licensed therapists.

Associate Therapists assess the therapeutic needs of clients, develop appropriate treatment plans, and facilitate group, family and individual therapy sessions.

Position collaborates with clients, team members, external clinical partners and family members, as appropriate, to coordinate care throughout the treatment process.

Relationships and Contacts Within the organization: Maintains frequent and close working relationships with clinical, admissions, and leadership team members throughout the organization.

Outside the organization: Initiates and maintains strong professional relationships with clients and families, clinical providers, referral partners and vendors, as needed. Position

Responsibilities

Essential

Responsibilities

Facilitates group, individual, and family therapy sessions in accordance with the clinical program schedule. Completes session notes, contact logs, discharge plans and other reports in compliance with State, accrediting bodies, quality guidelines and payor source guidelines.

Completes all necessary documentation within prescribed format and timelines. Ensures documentation reflects ongoing assessments of client’s clinical presentation and behaviors. Facilitates specialized groups as assigned based on education, training, and experience.

Selects appropriate interventions to meet the clinical needs of individual clients. Maintains therapeutic relationships with clients using praise and other reinforcers to encourage appropriate behaviors and attitudes. Sets limits and holds boundaries in a kind and firm manner.

Conducts effective verbal crisis intervention and de-escalation involving other team members, as needed. Collaborates with an interdisciplinary treatment team to coordinate client care from admission through discharge.

Attends clinical, consultation, and operations meetings; serves as a clinical advocate for assigned cases. Communicates client progress with the referral sources, families, parents and/or guardians, as appropriate. Addresses clients, visitors, physicians, and co-workers in a welcoming and respectful manner.

Responds to clients and families with empathy and positive professional skills. Additional

Responsibilities

Can be relied upon to be at work as scheduled, proactively notifying supervisor of planned and unplanned time off needs. Reads, understands, and adheres to all company policy statements on ethics, conduct, and conflict of interests; adheres to facility policies, procedures, rules, and regulations. Maintains positive attitude and acts as a team player with others on the team. Attends and completes all trainings within assigned time frames. Completes other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum

Requirements

Education and Experience Position requires a master’s degree in social work, marriage and family therapy, counseling or psychology, a temporary license with State of TN and to be in supervision. A minimum of 1 year experience working with clients with primary mental health diagnosis is strongly preferred. Physical

Requirements

While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to: Communicate effectively with peers, clients, families’, and external partners, Sit or remain stationary for extended periods of time, Move throughout the building, Speak and hear. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be required to: Smell and taste, Lift up to 15lbs. Other

Requirements

Requires clearance of TB test, criminal background check clearance, and any other mandatory state/federal requirements. Current CPR and First Aid certification or willingness to obtain certification within 30 days of start date.

Skill Competencies Ethics and Values – adheres to and promotes the ethics and values outlined in the company and accrediting/licensing bodies Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance. Consistently upholds and models a high level of Integrity in clinical services and team member interactions.

Clinical Knowledge – acquires and maintains a working knowledge of current theory and evidence-based practice. Proactively seeks supervision, consultation and continuing professional development to ensure knowledge and skills are maintained relative to position and clinical program delivery.

Cultural Competence – continuously strives to provide client-centered, culturally competent care, recognizes, and affirms cultural and linguistic diversity through therapeutic alliances and ongoing professional development.

Screening and Assessment – engages clients and members of the client support system, as appropriate, in screening and assessment to develop individualized, client-centered, evidence-informed care plans.

Leverages established screening tools for psychosocial, pain, domestic violence, substance use, self-hard, and distress assessments, among others. Care Planning and Intervention – develops and implements evidence-informed care plans that promote clinical excellence throughout the client-centered continuum of care.

Care plans outline necessary steps, identified collaboratively with the care team, to achieve objectives identified in the biopsychosocial assessment. Leverage evidence-informed, clinically excellent treatment interventions.

Advocacy – advocates for the needs and interest of clients and families to promotes clinical excellence through improved outcomes, access to care, and service delivery. Participates in quality improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing client outcomes and strengthening clinical service delivery.

Interdisciplinary and Interorganizational Collaboration – promotes cross functional collaboration among team members and referral partners to support and enhance clinical service delivery and support.

Renaissance Healthcare Group dba Pasadena Villa Smoky Mountain Lodge provides equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, genetic information, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

Equal employment opportunity applies to all terms and conditions of employment. Renaissance Healthcare Group dba Pasadena Villa Smoky Mountain Lodge reserves the rights to modify, interpret, or apply this job description in any way the organization desires.

This job description in no way implies that these are the only duties, including essential duties, to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities.

This job description is not an employment contract, implied or otherwise. The employment relationship remains “At-Will.”

Key Responsibilities

Associate Therapists facilitate individual, family, and group therapy sessions while maintaining clinical documentation in compliance with state and quality guidelines. They collaborate with an interdisciplinary team to coordinate client care and advocate for the therapeutic needs of clients throughout the treatment process.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a master's degree in social work, marriage and family therapy, counseling, or psychology, along with a temporary license in the state of Tennessee. A minimum of one year of experience working with clients with primary mental health diagnoses is strongly preferred.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)

Key Skills

Treatment planningCase managementMental health assessmentInterdisciplinary collaborationPsychosocial assessmentClient advocacyTherapeutic boundaries

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Associate Therapist I at ODYSSEY BEHAVIORAL GROUP a 6.6 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) — ranked against 8,029 active Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings on WeekdayDoc.

Counselor Career Context

Odyssey Behavioral Group holds silver-tier status on WeekdayDoc's Top Employers work-life index, composite score 70/100, 86 active listings.

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 38% are remote, 28% have no call, 68% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Tennessee is 91.9 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 58.6% of Tennessee clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Location & Logistics

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

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Salary Distribution48 jobs · 38 employers

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Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks37 jobs

401k / retirement match
86%
CME allowance
51%
Loan repayment
22%
Sign-on bonus
19%
PSLF eligible
11%

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Work-life snapshot

median 6.2this job 6.6
Better work-life than 60% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 8,029 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Sevierville

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$436k
Typical market rent
$1,719/mo
Residents’ average commute
24 min
State income tax
None
Sources & methodology

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

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

Odyssey Behavioral Group logo

About Odyssey Behavioral Group

Mental Health Care
Glen Allen, Virginia
51-200 employees