Responsibility
A Drug Abuse Treatment Specialist is primarily responsible for delivering services to incarcerated individuals in an effort to help them overcome substance use problems. He/she will provide direct services within residential and non-residential substance use treatment programs in a correctional facility. He/she conducts group and individual counseling, instructs drug education classes, develops treatment plans, applies assessment and treatment techniques, and develops discharge reports and follow-up treatment plans for inmates who are releasing to the community.
Experience Required
A Drug Abuse Treatment Specialist must have the ability to provide counseling in either a group or individual setting. He/she must have experiencing learning and applying new assessment and treatment techniques and use these techniques to develop rapport and advance treatment goals during counseling. During group counseling, he/she is required to simultaneously monitor the behavior of participants and facilitate the group process. He/she must understand the nature of addiction to effectively plan and implement treatment for participants. Additionally, he/she must possess knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories and social problems associated with addiction. He/she must have experience writing comprehensive treatment plan, treatment progress reports, discharge summaries, and other clinical documentation.
Qualifications
To qualify for a GS-9 position, the applicant must have 12 semester hours or graduate course work in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or social work including three (3) semester hours as an intern/practicum student in a clinical treatment setting. OR 12 months, full-time professional experience in treating (i.e., developing treatment plans, conducting individual and group therapy) individual with mental health and/or substance use disorders. To qualify for the GS-11 position, the applicant must have 24 semester hours or graduate course work in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or social work including six (6) semester hours as an intern/practicum student in a clinical treatment setting. OR 24 months, full-time professional experience in treating (i.e., developing treatment plans, conducting individual and group therapy) individual with mental health and/or substance use disorders.
