What are the responsibilities and job description for the Primary Therapist position at Guardian Recovery?
Primary Clinician – Evening IOP
SUD & Mental Health | Recovery-Focused Program
Saddle Brook Counseling Center | Saddle Brook, NJ
We’re not looking for someone who just wants another clinical job.
Saddle Brook Counseling Center is looking for an experienced Primary Clinician for our evening Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) serving individuals with substance use disorders, co-occurring conditions, and primary mental health needs.
We want a clinician who understands the difference between treating addiction and actually understanding recovery.
Clinical credentials matter. Good documentation matters. Evidence-based treatment matters.
But so does the ability to sit across from someone struggling with addiction, establish credibility, challenge them when necessary, and help them build a life that extends far beyond completing an IOP program.
The Person We Want
Our ideal clinician is someone who:
* Knows how to run a group that people actually want to participate in
* Can build genuine therapeutic relationships without losing professional boundaries
* Understands addiction, relapse, accountability, motivation, and long-term recovery
* Is comfortable challenging clients rather than simply checking boxes
* Understands co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders
* Believes clinical treatment and recovery support should complement each other
* Works well with a team and takes ownership of their caseload
* Can meet the documentation and clinical standards expected in a professional IOP setting
And importantly:
If you have your own lived experience with recovery, we value that.
Personal recovery experience, meaningful involvement with the recovery community, and a strong understanding of 12-Step recovery principles can bring a perspective to this work that cannot always be learned in a classroom.
If you’ve experienced recovery personally and also developed the education, clinical skills, and professional boundaries necessary to become an excellent clinician, we want to hear from you.
Personal recovery history or participation in a particular recovery fellowship is not required for employment.
What You’ll Do
As a Primary Clinician, you will:
* Facilitate evening IOP groups for SUD, co-occurring, and mental health clients
* Manage an assigned clinical caseload
* Conduct assessments and develop individualized treatment plans
* Provide individual counseling and clinical interventions
* Complete timely, high-quality progress notes and clinical documentation
* Participate in multidisciplinary treatment planning
* Coordinate care with outside providers and recovery supports when appropriate
* Develop effective discharge and continuing-care plans
* Maintain clinical documentation consistent with licensing, program, and payer requirements
* Help clients translate what happens in treatment into sustainable change outside of treatment
Qualifications
* Appropriate New Jersey clinical licensure/credentials for the services provided within an outpatient/IOP behavioral health program
* SUD, mental health, and/or co-occurring treatment experience strongly preferred
* IOP and group-facilitation experience strongly preferred
* Strong clinical and documentation skills
* Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to connect with a diverse client population
* Understanding of recovery-oriented systems of care
* Familiarity with 12-Step recovery principles is strongly valued
* Evening availability required
Why Saddle Brook Counseling Center?
We believe effective addiction treatment requires more than completing clinical assignments and documenting attendance.
We want our clients to receive excellent clinical care while being exposed to real recovery, accountability, connection, and a community that believes long-term change is possible.
We’re building a clinical team that understands both sides of that equation.
If you’re a strong clinician who understands recovery — whether through professional experience, lived experience, or both — we’d like to meet you.
Apply today and tell us what you would bring to our clinical and recovery culture.
Saddle Brook Counseling Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Personal recovery experience is welcomed and valued but is not a condition of employment. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, professional competency, and the requirements of the position.