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Leidos
Abilene, Texas

MFLC Counselor: Short Term or As Needed Coverage, Dy

Counselor / TherapistPer Diem

Listed compensation

$37-$44/hr

The week · per this posting

Schedule not stated in this posting — no days, weekends, call or nights given.

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Make a difference in the lives of our military Service Members and their families with your expertise in counseling and mental health – without the fuss of insurance, treatment plans, or overhead. Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) are the first line of defense for our Service Members’ mental health, and we need flexible, ready-to-serve counselors willing to jump in at a moment’s notice.

Leidos seeks passionate licensed mental healthcare providers ready to embrace a flexible PRN-type schedule, stepping in where needed across military installations and communities to safeguard and enhance mental well-being.

MFLCs proactively provide counseling services, preventative in nature, to address and provide solution-focused approaches to issues before they become greater challenges.

Interested counselors may support either adults or minors in a wide variety of assignments including but not limited to being embedded with a military unit, supporting military families, or working within a school setting.

What is the Mission Ready Reserve (MRR)? Mission Ready Reserve MFLCs are trained and available counselors ready to serve when called upon. Working as a Mission Ready Reserve MFLC allows counselors to focus wholeheartedly on their passion for helping others, unencumbered by administrative burdens. MRR counselors are assignment-ready and taking an assignment is at the discretion of the MRR counselor.

The need in this location is: CYB Positions.

Child and Youth Behavioral (CYB) Counseling

CYB-MFLCs provide support, including counseling, consultation, and outreach to eligible children, youth, parents, staff, and faculty.

Counselors may observe, participate, and engage in activities with children and youth; provide coaching, guidance, and support to staff and parents; and model behavior management techniques for staff and parents.

CYB counseling services may be needed at installations, Child Development Centers (CDCs), Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA) schools, summer schools, camps, and programs DoW-wide, addressing issues such as:

  • Identifying feelings.
  • Bullying.
  • Conflict resolution.
  • Self-esteem.
  • Managing anger and aggression.
  • Separation from parents.
  • Problem-solving.
  • Coping with deployment and reunification.
  • Transition and moving.
  • Sibling and parental relationships.
  • Time management.

MRR MFLC Service Oriented Model

  • Unlimited and free CEUs through a Leidos affiliate.
  • Reimbursement for job-related license renewal fees.
  • Eligibility to participate in 401K retirement plan.
  • Access to health and wellness programs with cashback incentives.
  • Access to Leidos’ Employee Discount Program and exclusive discount marketplace.

MRR MFLC Responsibilities Include

Face-to-face counseling to military Service Members and their families (individual, couples, family, and children).

Recommending appropriate referrals and handoffs based on your experienced differential clinical skills to military and community resources according to the needs of military Service Members and their families.

Offer presentations to address social skills development and social emotional learning that is crucial for early childhood development.

Build rapport with Service Members, spouses, and children by attending installation and community events.

Help families and children with challenges that are particular to the military community, transitions, reoccurring moves, frequent separations, deployments, and more.

Environment: At the direction of the Department of War (DoW), duties are performed in multiple indoor locations (approximately 60%) and outdoor locations (approximately 40%). The indoor locations are located on a military installation, a school setting, or a child development center (CDC) setting controlled by the DoW.

The outdoor locations frequently involve traversing over uneven grassy, gravel, and/or dirt areas, ascending/descending stairs, and exposure to the weather. CDC settings frequently involve sitting on the floor to interact with children for up to 2 hours at a time.

As a Mission Ready Reserve MFLC, you may experience various environments depending on the assignment.

Minimum Requirements

A master’s degree or higher in the Behavioral Health Professions (MS/MSW/MA/PhD).

Licensure to practice at the independent practice level (LCSW, MFT, LPCC, Psychologist) in a state or territory of the United States.

Must be a U.S. citizen.

Must be able to pass a basic background check for employment, a National /Child National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI/CNACI) clearance, commonly called a Public Trust clearance.

Pay Range

Pay Range $37/hr. - $44/hr.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting

October 29, 2026

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range

Pay Range -

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

Key Responsibilities

Provide proactive, solution-focused counseling services to military service members and their families in various settings including schools and installations. Build rapport with clients and offer referrals to community resources while addressing challenges like deployment, transitions, and behavioral issues.

Requirements

Requires a master's degree or higher in behavioral health professions and independent licensure such as LCSW, MFT, LPCC, or Psychologist. Candidates must be U.S. citizens and able to pass a public trust background check.

Qualifications

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

Key Skills

Mental health counselingCrisis interventionClinical assessmentSolution-focused therapyChild and youth behavioral supportCase managementReferral coordinationFamily counselingIndividual counselingMilitary culture competencyDocumentationCommunication

Military and Family Life Counseling — Counselor Career Context

Of the 45 active Counselor listings this role was benchmarked against, 58% are remote, 16% have no call, 69% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Texas is 97.1 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$84k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $87k in an average-cost state. 57.7% of Texas clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

How many Counselor jobs are remote?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$77k–$92kCounselor median $68k (middle half $60k–$74k)10 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$87k in purchasing powerTexas index 97.1 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Counselor listings in Texas704 active13,607 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 58% remote · 16% no call · 69% no weekends45 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedTexas Counselor listings: 7% state a sign-on bonus · 19% offer loan repayment703 active listings, Oct 2026
Counselor pay trend+2.8% vs prior quarter—through Sep 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Location & Logistics

Texas has no state income tax, which can significantly increase take-home pay compared to high-tax states. At the posted ~$84k midpoint, that is roughly $3k–$6k a year versus a typical 4–7% state rate.

Top contract/1099 Counselor Jobs

43 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

19 jobs
4
<$45k
4
$45k-55k
4
$55k-60k
5
$60k-115k
2
$129k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

22 jobs
401k / retirement match
68% this job
CME allowance
36% this job
Loan repayment
18%
Sign-on bonus
14%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Outpatient Therapist TF-CBT

Northeast Family Services · New Rochelle, New York

$70-$100/hr
#2

Outpatient Therapist TF-CBT

Northeast Family Services · Bronx, New York

$70-$100/hr
#3

Outpatient Therapist - EMDR

$70-$100/hr
#4

Part Time Remote Group Therapist - Texas Licensed

$62-$96/hr
+ 41 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 4.8
Better work-life than 40% of Counseling listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 13,505 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Leidos logo

About Leidos

Defense and Space Manufacturing
Reston, Virginia
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

Unlimited and free CEUs
Reimbursement for job-related license renewal fees
401K retirement plan
Health and wellness programs with cashback incentives
Employee Discount Program

Living in Abilene

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$238k
Typical market rent
$1,988/mo
Residents’ average commute
16 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
90.4
State income tax
None
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Abilene, TX metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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