Admissions Counselor Acute

Overview

Pay Range: $28-$33/hr. Schedule: Monday–Friday, 11:00pm - 7:00am (with rotating weekends)

This rate includes shift differential $2.00

Capitol Park Mental Health Hospital is seeking a skilled and compassionate Admissions Counselor to join our clinical team. This role is essential in ensuring that individuals seeking care receive timely, accurate, and clinically appropriate access to services. The Admissions Counselor conducts intake assessments, coordinates the admissions process, and supports utilization review activities to ensure patients are placed at the most suitable level of care.

As part of Acadia Healthcare, the nation’s largest stand‑alone behavioral health provider, you will be contributing to a mission-driven organization committed to delivering exceptional, patient-centered mental health treatment.

About Capitol Park Mental Health Hospital

Capitol Park Mental Health Hospital is a 144‑bed behavioral health facility that opened in September 2025 on the former Bethesda Hospital campus. The hospital offers a comprehensive continuum of mental health services, including:

• Inpatient psychiatric care
• Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
• Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)
  
  

Our modern facility is designed to support healing, safety, and long-term recovery. We are committed to providing compassionate, evidence-based care in a supportive and collaborative environment.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related behavioral health field (preferred)
• Current licensure or eligibility for licensure (RN, LMSW, LCSW, LPC, LPCC, LMFT, LCPC, LPA or LCP preferred).
• Experience in behavioral health, crisis assessment, or admissions strongly preferred
• Strong clinical assessment and diagnostic skills
• Excellent communication, organization, and interpersonal abilities
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, patient-centered environment
  
  

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Respond to inquiries about the facility within facility policy timeframes.
• Ability to develop therapeutic relationships with patients and families.
• Perform benefit eligibility to ensure patient benefits are active at the time of admission. Communicate benefit eligibility to the business office and the patient or significant other.
• Collaborate with facility medical and psychiatric personnel to ensure appropriate recommendations regarding pending referrals.
• Coordinate admission and transfer from referral sources and between levels of care within the facility.
• Maintain knowledge of milieu management.
• Communicate projected admissions to designated internal representatives promptly.
• Ensure all clinical information from referral sources or patients (including medical comorbidity information) is received, when possible, prior to patient admission.
• Schedule (when applicable) and complete pre-admission assessments, consult with the admitting physician and communicate disposition recommendations to the patient or their family.
• Possess skill in preparing and maintaining appropriate medical record documentation that will result in authorization at the level of care being requested of the payor.
• Complete initial pre-authorization for treatment and admission prior to admission, when possible, and within payor timeframe guidelines.
• Admit the patient to the registration and accounting system. Complete all admission and consent forms with the patient.
• Demonstrate a positive, empathetic, and professional attitude toward customers always.  When patient needs are not met, acknowledge and work to resolve complaints.  Recognize that patient safety is a top priority.
• When a patient’s needs are not met, acknowledge and work to resolve complaints.  Recognize that patient safety is a top priority.
• Coordinate care for patients who are not being admitted and ensure that they receive appropriate follow-up care and referrals.
• Demonstrate a sense of urgency related to the importance of patient safety and provide excellent customer service.
• Responsible for conducting safety checks and ensuring that supervision is conducted at 15-minute intervals, as noted in special precautions, or by individualized supervision guidelines as needed.
  
  

Other Functions

• Perform other functions and tasks as assigned.
  
  

Qualifications

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related behavioral health field (preferred) Current licensure or eligibility for licensure (RN, LMSW, LCSW, LPC, LPCC, LMFT, LCPC, LPA or LCP preferred).
• One or more years’ experience in mental/behavioral health working with individuals in a clinical or observational capacity preferred.
  
  

Licenses/Designations/Certifications

• Current licensure, as preferred for the area of clinical specialty, as designated by the state in which the facility operates.
• CPR and de-escalation/restraint certification required (training available upon hire and offered by facility).
• First aid may be preferred based on state or facility.
  
  

Additional Regulatory Requirements

While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the requirements of the job, management reserves the right to add or remove duties from particular jobs when circumstances

(e.g. emergencies, changes in workload, rush jobs, or technological developments) dictate.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment regardless of an individual’s characteristics protected by applicable state, federal and local laws.

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