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Sanford Health
Thief River Falls, Minnesota

Associate Behavioral Health Counselor

Counselor / TherapistIncludes weekendsNo callPer Diem

Listed compensation

$22.5-$36/hr

The week · per this posting

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

Posted 31m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland.

Work Shift

Varies (United States of America)

Scheduled Weekly Hours

0

Compensation

Salary Range: $22.50 - $36.00

Union Position

No

Department Details

This is an oncall position, with flexibility in scheduling. Does requiring working overnights, weekends and some holidays. This is a great team who work well together and are willing to help each other out. Interested parties can have to option of working primarily of out Roseau County or Pennington County. This position does not require a college degree, must meet criteria for a Mental Health Practitioner as defined by Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Summary

The Associate Behavioral Health Counselor requires a broad, yet solid, understanding of human behavior and theories of counseling. May work with a wide range of patient populations and presenting issues, requiring a foundation in a variety of treatment modalities. This role is a team-based role where responsibility for patient well-being is diffused among the treatment team and the overall responsibility lies with a clinical supervisor or admitting provider.

Job Description

The Associate Behavioral Health Counselor assesses patient needs, develops treatment plans, and implements treatment interventions specific to patient needs. Continually assesses patients' progress and revises treatment plans and interventions accordingly. Documents treatment sessions.

Provides patient progress updates to interdisciplinary team, as needed. May educate patient support members about patient issues and interventions. May refer for additional clinical services or to specialists, as needed. Must stay current on emerging issues in the profession.

The Associate Behavioral Health Counselor may work in a variety of settings, with duties varying by setting.

In a clinic setting (other than primary care), the Associate Behavioral Health Counselor conducts scheduled face-to-face counseling sessions designed to assess and improve patients' emotional, mental, and behavioral health.

In a hospital setting, the Associate Behavioral Health Counselor may have a broad scope of duties, depending upon assignment. Hospital assignments include psychiatric inpatient treatment and/or specific hospital units.

Psychiatric inpatient treatment duties include development, implementation, and evaluation of treatment plan, individual and family counseling, and consultation with all Mental Health Professionals. Hospital unit duties include crisis intervention, assessment, and referral.

In a community setting, the Associate Behavioral Health Counselor coordinates and provides treatment for patients with severe and persistent mental illness. This may include community-based interventions aimed at improving daily living skills, social skills, and self-regulation skills.

The community-based Associate Behavioral Health Counselor consults with a multi-disciplinary team to ensure treatment compliance.

In a residential setting, the Associate Behavioral Health Counselor coordinates and provides treatment for patients requiring a higher level of care than outpatient therapy; however, do not meet the criteria for psychiatric inpatient treatment.

Treatment occurs at the residential treatment facility and includes a broad range of duties: assessment and screening, individual and group counseling, development, implementation, and evaluation of treatment programs, and consultation and coordination with a multi-disciplinary team.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in behavioral sciences or related field preferred, and completion of a practicum or internship. In Minnesota, must follow Minnesota State statute defining Mental Health Practitioner.

At least 4,000 hours of supervised experience in the delivery of services to persons with: mental illness, substance use disorders or emotional disturbances, traumatic brain injury or developmental disabilities, OR, Has at least 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours in behavioral sciences or related fields and at least 2,000 hours of supervised work experience in the delivery of services to persons with: mental illness, substance use disorders or emotional disturbances, traumatic brain injury or developmental disabilities.

Sanford is an EEO/AA Employer M/F/Disability/Vet.

If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation for help with your online application, please call 1-877-949-5678 or send an email to talent@sanfordhealth.org.

Key Responsibilities

The Associate Behavioral Health Counselor assesses patient needs, develops treatment plans, and implements interventions across various clinical settings. They also document sessions, provide progress updates to the interdisciplinary team, and coordinate care for patients with mental health or substance use issues.

Qualifications

Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Treatment planningPatient assessmentMental health assessmentDocumentationInterdisciplinary collaborationCase managementSubstance use disorder supportSocial skills trainingClinical consultationPatient education

Behavioral Health — Counselor Career Context

The cost-of-living index for Minnesota is 98.6 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$61k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $62k in an average-cost state. 63.4% of Minnesota clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Of the 50 active Behavioral Health listings this role was benchmarked against, 54% are remote, 12% have no call, 46% require no weekends.

What does the Behavioral Health market look like in Minnesota?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Work-life score6.4 / 10 · top 25% in behavioral health (counseling)ranked against 340 Behavioral Health (Counseling) listingslisting-based score, 0–10
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$62k in purchasing powerMinnesota index 98.6 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Behavioral Health listings in Minnesota7 active333 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 54% remote · 12% no call · 46% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedMinnesota Counselor listings: 15% state a sign-on bonus (median $2k) · 29% offer loan repayment238 active listings, Nov 2026
New Behavioral Health listings833 in the last 30 days532 the 30 days before (+57%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Behavioral Health pay trend−6.5% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index (340 Behavioral Health (Counseling) listings), BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Associate Behavioral Health Counselor at Sanford Health a 6.4 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the top 25% in Behavioral Health (Counseling) — ranked against 340 active Behavioral Health (Counseling) listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no on-call duties.

Top contract/1099 Counselor Jobs

49 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

27 jobs
14
<$75k
1
$94k
4
$102k
8
$125k-150k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

28 jobs
401k / retirement match
82%
CME allowance
64%
Loan repayment
36%
PSLF eligible
25%
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

Part Time Remote Group Therapist - Texas Licensed

$62-$96/hr
#4

Mental Health Therapist - Illinois (Part-Time)

$58.5-$85/hr
+ 47 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 2.8this job 6.4
Better work-life than 80% of Behavioral Health (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 340 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No call
  • Includes weekends

Living in Thief River Falls

Median resident rent
$838/mo
Residents’ average commute
10 min
State income tax
Up to 9.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

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