Mental Health Associate

Oak Plains Academy; Ashland City (TN); On-site; USD 21,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Excellent benefits

401(k) with match

SoFi student loan program

Free meals

Job summary

Oak Plains Academy is seeking a dedicated Mental Health Associate to provide direct patient care for adolescent residents in a 98-bed residential program. The role focuses on safety, therapy milieu, documentation, and positive relationships across the facility.

Ongoing duties include implementing behavioral plans, crisis intervention when necessary, and adherence to facility policies. The ideal candidate is patient, accepting, and compassionate with a true desire to help children.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Bachelor's degree with one year health care experience preferred.
• Valid driver’s license in good standing.
• Must attend two-week orientation classes, Monday–Friday 08:30–16:30.

Responsibilities

• Follows program schedule/milieu with minimal supervision.
• Follows program rules and guidelines and ensures resident's compliance with same.
• Promotes the development and safety of the residents.
• Remain alert at all times, by using forethought to anticipate potentially unsafe situations.
• Completes timely and accurate documentation of resident's behavior.
• Attends and completes all scheduled in-services and trainings as required.
• Alerts supervisors to risk management and quality concerns.

Skills

Patience

Empathy

Compassion

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Bachelor's degree in health care (preferred)

Job description

Responsibilities

Oak Plains Academy (a UHS company)

Mental Health Associates

High School Diploma or GED required

Bachelor's degree with one year of health care experience (preferred)

Full-time positions available

• Starting wage of $15.44/per hour up to $23/per hour based on years of experience in behavioral health field, higher education, and military experience.
• Shift Differential $4 per hour on weekends, $2 - $3 per hour during the week
• Frequent opportunity for overtime

Shifts Available

• Night Shift 6 PM - 6 AM
• This role requires a successful background check, fingerprinting and employment verification***

Benefit Highlights

• Challenging and rewarding work environment
• Competitive Compensation & Generous Paid Time Off
• Excellent Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Drug Plans
• 401(K) with company match and discounted stock plan
• SoFi Student Loan Refinancing Program
• Career development opportunities within UHS and its 300+ Subsidiaries!
• Free meals
• More information is available on our Benefits Guest Website: benefits.uhsguest.com

Mental Health Associate Role

Oak Plains Academy is looking for people who want to make a difference in the lives of youth as a Mental Health Associate. The Mental Health Associate is a front-line position with responsibility for direct patient care of our adolescent residents. The Mental Health Associate ensures the safety and well‑being of the residents while supporting the therapeutic milieu. The Mental Health Associate participates in the development and implementation of patients’ behavioral programs by providing care and documenting behaviors; developing positive relationships across the facility; following facility policies; and providing crisis intervention as necessary. The ideal candidate will be patient, accepting, and compassionate and have a true desire to help children. The candidate is someone who can adhere to strict guidelines for our policies regarding supervision of the youth in our care. There will be times when overtime is required, and we are seeking someone who can adapt to flexible schedules and is passionate about helping youth with mental health and behavioral problems.

Key Responsibilities

• Follows program schedule/milieu with minimal supervision.
• Follows program rules and guidelines and ensures resident's compliance with same.
• Promotes the development and safety of the residents.
• Remain alert at all times, by using forethought to anticipate potentially unsafe situations.
• Completes timely and accurate documentation of resident's behavior.
• Attends and completes all scheduled in‑services and trainings as required.
• Alerts supervisors to risk management and quality concerns.

About Oak Plains Academy

Oak Plains Academy is a comprehensive and highly structured 98‑bed residential treatment program offering psychiatric residential treatment services to children and adolescents, struggling with emotional and behavioral issues. Residents receive an individualized treatment plan, geared to meet their personal needs. A professional team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, therapists, nurses, and teachers serve hundreds of children and adolescents annually with the common goal of treating and healing trauma and building resiliency in the residents we serve. Located on 20 acres of rolling hills in a rural setting, about 45 minutes from Nashville, Tennessee, Oak Plains Academy campus features a full‑size gymnasium, dining hall, separate academic building, and four dormitories. Our wooded campus provides an excellent opportunity for outdoor recreational activities.

About Universal Health Services

One of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since its inception into an esteemed Fortune 500® corporation, annual revenues during 2025 were $17.4 billion. In 2026, UHS was again recognized as one of Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies™ and in 2025, was listed in Forbes ranking of America’s Largest Public Companies. Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has approximately 101,500 employees and continues to grow through its subsidiaries. Operating acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities, outpatient facilities and ambulatory care access points, an insurance offering, a physician network and various related services located in 40 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. For additional information visit www.uhs.com. From Fortune, ©2025, 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Sociology, Education or related field or a technical degree in areas of allied health.(Preferred)
• Minimum:High School Diploma or equivalent required, plus one year experience in mental health with demonstrable competence in required knowledge and responsibilities preferred.
• Valid driver's license in good standing.
• Satisfactory health, strength and stamina to meet the physical, mental and emotional demands and stressors. The position requires: walking, running, standing, lifting, irregular working hours, and assisting with the protective restraints. This position requires use of "Handle with Care"
• 21 years of age
• Flexible schedule
• Must attend the two‑week orientation classes, Monday through Friday 08:30 am - 4:30 pm.

EEO Statement

All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Avoid and Report Recruitment Scams

We are aware of a scam whereby imposters are posing as Recruiters from UHS, and our subsidiary hospitals and facilities. Beware of anyone requesting financial or personal information. At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skill set and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries. During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (e.g., Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. Our recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. If you suspect a fraudulent job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, we encourage you to report such concerns to appropriate law enforcement. We encourage you to refer to legitimate UHS and UHS subsidiary career websites to verify job opportunities and not rely on unsolicited calls from recruiters.