LEAD THERAPIST (LICENSED)

Responsibilities

Meridell Achievement Center is a 134-bed, seclusion free, psychiatric residential treatment facility located northwest of Austin. Our 60-acre campus is complete with mature oaks, rolling hills, and plenty of walking paths and outdoor spaces.

We have 7 unique living units separated by gender, age, and development needs with a swimming pool, gymnasium, sports court and playing fields.

We provide 24-hour psychiatric care to girls and boys ages 10 to 17 years old with customized therapeutic approaches and intensive behavioral programs to teach young patients to moderate their behavior, manage emotions and improve social functioning.

Website: www.meridell.com

Position Summary

The Lead Therapist performs social services functions to include assisting patients in meeting their biopsychosocial needs while enabling them to access through therapeutic treatment skills to achieve their optimal level of emotional health, including providing basic consultation, teaching, complete specialized clinical social work services for patients/families receiving care, crisis intervention, short-term and long-term family therapy, and providing information and referrals as needed.

The Lead Therapist additionally functions as a mentor and team lead within the clinical department.

They serve as a preceptor for new therapists, consult on difficult cases, and support the DCS in performing administrative and leadership tasks as assigned. *The Lead therapist may be expected to carry up to a full therapist caseload depending on facility needs.*

Benefits for Our Lead Therapists Include

• Challenging and rewarding work environment
• Competitive Compensation & Generous Paid Time Off
• Excellent Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Drug Plans
• 401(K) with company match and discounted stock plan
• SoFi Student Loan Refinancing Program
• Tuition savings to continue your nursing education with Chamberlain University
• Career development opportunities within UHS and its 300+ Subsidiaries!

Pet Insurance

More information is available on our Benefits Guest Website: benefits.uhsguest.com

About Universal Health Services

One of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance.

Growing steadily since its inception into an esteemed Fortune 500® corporation, annual revenues during 2025 were $17.4 billion. In 2026, UHS was again recognized as one of Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies™ and in 2025, was listed in Forbes ranking of America’s Largest Public Companies.

Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has approximately 101,500 employees and continues to grow through its subsidiaries. Operating acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities, outpatient facilities and ambulatory care access points, an insurance offering, a physician network and various related services located in 40 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. For additional information visit www.uhs.com.

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Qualifications

Education/Training

Master's degree in social work, psychology, mental health counseling or a similar educational degree required.

Experience

• 3-5 years experience required, 5 - 8 years preferred
• One year of clinical experience in RTC setting

One Year of Group Facilitation Experience

Knowledge of psychiatric patient care techniques and understanding of mental illness, preferred.

Licensure/Certification

• LPC, LMFT, or LCSW in State of Texas
• Current driver license.

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of family and group therapy techniques
• Knowledge of crisis intervention procedures
• Knowledge of strong clinical assessment skills
• Knowledge of therapeutic planning and techniques
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients and co-workers
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Formulate and conduct educational, therapeutic, and/or support groups
• Conduct individual/couples/family counseling on scheduled timetables

Develop an effective working relationship with patient and/or family (engagement, collaboration, advocacy, problem solving)

Assess and identify psychosocial, educational, developmental and behavioral functioning of the patient/family system through established case finding mechanisms

Contribute to the effective functioning of the patient’s program and other facility-wide activities

Demonstrate a professional attitude and supports the objectives of the facility’s business development/marketing and guest relations philosophy through internal and external communications and interactions with all levels of staff, patients, family members, guests, community and referral sources

• Precept, train, and support new therapists
• Provide coverage for the Director of Clinical Services when they are on PTO
• Consult with therapists on difficult cases, and support with parent phone calls and family sessions as needed.
• Complete chart audits for the clinical department and participate in regulatory survey readiness.
• Performs other duties as assigned/required by this position

EEO Statement

All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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We are aware of a scam whereby imposters are posing as Recruiters from UHS, and our subsidiary hospitals and facilities. Beware of anyone requesting financial or personal information.

At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skill set and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries.

During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (e. g., Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. Our recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.

If you suspect a fraudulent job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, we encourage you to report such concerns to appropriate law enforcement. We encourage you to refer to legitimate UHS and UHS subsidiary career websites to verify job opportunities and not rely on unsolicited calls from recruiters.