THRIVE Wellness and Recovery logo
THRIVE Wellness and Recovery
Watertown, New York

Entry Level Counselor

CounselorNo weekendsPart-Time

Listed compensation

$36k

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 4mo ago

Job Description

Schedule: Part-Time: Monday-Friday 4:30pm-9:30pm

Summary

Provide supportive presence for Clinical Staff in all areas of programming. Interaction with residents including, clinical activities, transport to off – site services, recreation, work projects and volunteer activities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Maintain Standards that apply to Confidentiality and 42 CFR/HIPAA
  • Must be knowledgeable and able to demonstrate the Canon of Ethics, healthy professional relationships and boundaries with clients and co-workers
  • Provide individual and group activities
  • Co-facilitate group counseling and didactic sessions
  • Participate in clinical supervision at least bi-weekly and comply with directions

Utilize ATTC’s Performance Assessment Rubrics as a tool for assessing and developing clinical competencies to strive to meet the Proficient Counselor standard.

Ensure the delivery of prompt medical attention in cases of illness or accident, report any such incidents to the Program Director/Supervisor, complete untoward incident reports and documentation as required. Utilize the On-call system as needed.

  • Obtain breath and urine samples for AOD testing
  • Participate in record reviews
  • Attend and participate in relevant training while pursuing/maintaining CASAC
  • Attend staff meetings, in-service and conference/trainings as assigned
  • Convey information inter/intra agency
  • Be sensitive and responsible to public relations within the community

Maintain Basic Knowledge of the Physical Plant

  • Supervise and participate with residents during recreational, vocational and educational activities including meal preparation, cleaning, hygiene, nutrition and daily chores.
  • Utilize program consumables and supplies cost effectively
  • Transport residents to appointments and activities as needed
  • Safeguard, monitor and distribute residents’ medication as prescribed

Perform Other Duties as Assigned

Management has the right to add or change the duties of this position at any time.

Requirements

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

Required: Must have a High School Diploma or GED.

Preferred: College Degree and experience in Substance Abuse, Mental Health, Physical Education and/or Recreation preferred

Other Job Requirements: Must maintain a valid Drivers License, as specified in the personnel policies.

Key Responsibilities

Provide supportive presence for clinical staff by facilitating group counseling and didactic sessions for residents. Supervise daily activities including recreation, vocational tasks, and transport to off-site services.

Key Skills

Crisis InterventionPatient TransportMedication DistributionCase DocumentationBoundary SettingPatient MonitoringConflict Resolution

Substance Abuse Counseling — Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Substance Abuse Counseling listings this role was benchmarked against, 36% are remote, 28% have no call, 68% require no weekends.

In New York, the Substance Abuse Counseling weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$62k (16 salary observations; 33 listings), vs ~$59k nationally (67 salary observations; 165 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-02-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for New York is 107.9 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$36k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $34k in an average-cost state. 64.6% of New York clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Substance Abuse Counseling pay on WeekdayDoc is up 11.1% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Entry Level Counselor at THRIVE Wellness and Recovery a 6.0 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Substance Abuse Counseling — ranked against 61 active Substance Abuse Counseling listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements.

Top Counselor Jobs

42 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution42 jobs · 32 employers

12
<$75k
17
$75k-90k
4
$90k-105k
1
$119k
8
$120k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks28 jobs

401k / retirement match
89%
Sign-on bonus
29%
CME allowance
21%
PSLF eligible
21%
Loan repayment
18%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Licensed Mental Health Therapist (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC)

LifeStance Health · San Diego, California

$117k-$134k
#2

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

LifeStance Health · Brookfield, Wisconsin

$92k-$125k
#3

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)

$115k-$120k
#4

NY Licensed DBT Therapist - DBT Master’s or Doctoral - Telehealth - Full-Time

$93k-$120k
+ 40 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 5.1this job 6.0
Better work-life than 70% of Substance Abuse Counseling listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 61 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends

Living in Watertown

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$203k≈ 5.6× annual pay
Typical market rent
$1,565/mo≈ 52% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
16 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
87.7
State income tax
Up to 10.9%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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