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IOP Group Counselor

Ava Health | Grand Junction, Colorado
Position Type: Part-Time up to 25 hours per week

Position Summary

Ava Health is seeking a skilled, engaging, and compassionate Group Counselor to facilitate therapeutic groups within our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in Grand Junction, Colorado.

This is a part-time clinical position designed for a counselor who enjoys working with groups and wants to be part of a collaborative behavioral health treatment team. The Group Counselor will primarily facilitate structured therapeutic, psychoeducational, process-oriented, and skills-based groups for adults experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance use concerns.

Ava Health's groups are all-gender, mixed-diagnosis groups, and clinicians should be comfortable working with clients presenting with a range of mental health, substance use, relational, emotional regulation, and recovery-related needs.

This position may be appropriate for clinical interns, pre-licensed clinicians working toward independent licensure, Colorado substance use counselors, or independently licensed behavioral health clinicians.

Minimum Qualifications

Candidates must fall within one or more of the following categories:

• Master's-level clinical intern in an MSW, counseling, MFT, or similar behavioral health program
• Colorado Certified Addiction Technician (CAT)
• Colorado Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS)
• Colorado Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC)
• LPCC, CSW, MFT, or similar clinician working toward independent licensure
• Independently licensed LPC, LCSW, LMFT, or comparable behavioral health professional

Candidates must be appropriately credentialed, registered, or actively working toward licensure within their respective professional discipline and able to practice within the scope of their credential and supervision.

Required Experience & Skills

• Previous experience facilitating therapeutic, psychoeducational, recovery, or behavioral health groups
• Ability to confidently lead and maintain structure within a group setting
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Ability to engage clients with varying levels of motivation and readiness for change
• Ability to establish appropriate therapeutic boundaries while maintaining warmth, empathy, and authenticity
• Comfortable facilitating groups addressing both mental health and substance use concerns
• Ability to manage challenging group dynamics, conflict, emotional dysregulation, and behavioral concerns appropriately
• Strong verbal communication and group presentation skills
• Ability to receive feedback, collaborate with colleagues, and continue developing clinical skills
• Commitment to ethical practice, confidentiality, documentation standards, and practicing within professional scope

Primary Responsibilities

The Group Counselor will:

• Facilitate scheduled IOP therapeutic groups
• Create a safe, structured, engaging, and respectful group environment
• Facilitate psychoeducation, skills practice, therapeutic processing, and experiential activities as appropriate
• Encourage meaningful participation while respecting individual differences and readiness
• Establish clear expectations and maintain appropriate group boundaries
• Respond therapeutically to difficult group dynamics and behavioral concerns
• Utilize evidence-informed approaches appropriate to the clinician's training and scope, which may include motivational interviewing, CBT, DBT, ACT, relapse-prevention strategies, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness, and recovery-oriented interventions
• Support clients in connecting concepts discussed in group to their individual treatment and recovery goals
• Complete required group documentation accurately and within established timeframes
• Communicate relevant clinical concerns to the treatment team
• Participate in supervision, consultation, and training as appropriate
• Collaborate with therapists, psychiatric providers, nursing staff, case managers, and other members of the Ava Health team
• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries and practice within the scope of their credential, training, and supervision
• Support Ava Health's commitment to creating an inclusive, respectful, person-centered treatment environment

Group Facilitation Philosophy

At Ava Health, running a group is more than presenting information.

Effective group counselors are expected to create an environment in which clients feel safe enough to participate, challenged enough to grow, and connected enough to learn from one another.

Our groups incorporate a combination of:

• Therapeutic processing
• Psychoeducation
• Skills development and practice
• Motivational interviewing
• CBT, DBT, and ACT-informed concepts
• Emotional regulation
• Communication and relationship skills
• Relapse prevention and recovery skills
• Mindfulness
• Experiential and interactive activities
• Peer connection and community building

Group counselors are encouraged to bring their own clinical strengths, personality, creativity, and areas of expertise into their work while remaining consistent with the overall treatment model and needs of the program.

What Ava Health Offers

This position provides an opportunity to:

• Become part of a collaborative multidisciplinary behavioral health team
• Receive on-the-job training and professional development
• Develop advanced group facilitation skills
• Gain experience working with complex, dual-diagnosis presentations
• Work alongside experienced behavioral health professionals
• Build clinical experience toward professional development and licensure, when applicable
• Make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals working toward improved mental health and recovery
• Join a growing organization with opportunities for professional growth

Schedule

This is a part-time position supporting Ava Health's Intensive Outpatient Program in Grand Junction, Colorado. Programming is during the day, typically 10am-3pm Monday to Friday.Specific hours and group assignments will be determined based on program needs, candidate availability, clinical qualifications, and experience.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal Group Counselor is someone who genuinely enjoys facilitating groups of people getting vulnerable and supporting one another.They are comfortable creating structure without being rigid, engaging clients without forcing participation, and balancing education with authentic therapeutic interaction. They understand that effective groups depend not only on the curriculum being delivered, but on the relationships, safety, energy, and culture created within the room.

Most importantly, they enjoy working as part of a team and want their work to meaningfully help people who are navigating mental health and substance use challenges.

Ava Health is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive workplace and treatment environment.