Recruiting and HR
Mental health recruiters for behavioral health practices
Hiring through mental health recruiters starts with one licensing question: is the clinician licensed, or still a registered intern? Florida had 12,257 active registered interns beside 36,943 active licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors in fiscal 2025-26 (DOH). We assist with recruitment, candidate screening and pre-qualification for direct hire.
The short answer
What do mental health recruiters check before you hire a clinician?
First, licensed or registered intern? An intern practices under a qualified supervisor (Rule 64B4-2.002 caps each at 25 interns), can't enroll in Medicare and has no Florida Medicaid provider type. Then check the license or registration on MQA and the OIG exclusion list before the offer. The Advixor Group assists with recruitment, candidate screening and pre-qualification for direct hire, onto your payroll.
Sourcess. 491.0045Rule 64B4-2.002CMS MFT and MHC pageAHCA Provider Enrollment Policy
Direct Hire
How our mental health recruiters work: direct hire onto your payroll
The clinician you choose joins your payroll, and hiring, pay, classification and every other employment decision stays with you. Your clinical staff can also draw on clinical supervision: guidance, training, and review and feedback on cases and documentation, always by or under an appropriately licensed professional. We recruit behavioral health clinicians for the roles and markets you need. Before we present a candidate, we check the Florida license or intern registration, the supervisor’s approval where one is needed and the exclusion list, and give you the dated results.
Behavioral health recruiting
Beyond the search, we:
- Develop and update the job description
- Support onboarding and orientation (HR and staff training)
License or Intern
What behavioral health recruiters check: license, intern status, supervisor
Check each license or registration on MQA License Verification, where registered interns and provisional licensees are their own license types, and run the OIG exclusion check before the offer.
| Role | Practice basis | Medicare | Florida Medicaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCSW, LMFT, LMHC | Chapter 491 license; no supervision | Enrolls on its own; 75% of the physician fee schedule amount | Provider type 07 |
| Registered intern (CSW, MFT, MHC) | Registration, practicing under a qualified supervisor | Can’t enroll; LCSWs, LMFTs and LMHCs aren’t on CMS’s list of practitioners who may bill incident-to | No intern provider type |
| Psychiatric NP | APRN license; a protocol with a psychiatrist to prescribe psychotropic controlled substances | Enrolls as an NP; 85% | Type 30; Form 5000-1067 as a sole proprietor unless autonomous |
| Certified addiction professional | DCF-recognized certification and at least a bachelor’s degree make a qualified professional | Enrolls as an MHC only if they meet every MHC requirement | Group therapy only; master’s level also individual therapy |
Sources ss. 397.311, 464.012, 491.0045 and 491.005, F.S.; CMS MFT and MHC page and manuals; AHCA Provider Enrollment Policy and Behavioral Health Therapy Services Coverage Policy, §3.2.
Registered Interns
A behavioral health recruiter’s guide to hiring registered interns
Florida registers interns in all three professions: a fee of up to $200, background screening, a supervision plan and an identified qualified supervisor (s. 491.0045(2)).
- 25registered interns at a time: the cap Rule 64B4-2.002 puts on a qualified supervisor, so supervision capacity sets how many you can hire.
- 100 hoursof supervision in no less than 100 weeks, at least 1 hour every two weeks and at least 50% of the contact in person, for the rule to credit it.
- 1,500 hoursof face-to-face psychotherapy the intern must also provide: the rule credits the supervision only when both are met.
Source Rule 64B4-2.002 (amended July 6, 2026).
The supervisor’s duties and forms are on clinical supervision in Florida; for private practices, see for therapists and how to start a mental health practice.
Psychiatric Roles
What psychiatrist recruiters and psychiatric NP hires require
Two titles are defined by statute. A psychiatrist is a medical practitioner licensed under chapter 458 or 459 for at least 3 years, inclusive of psychiatric residency (s. 394.455(37)). A psychiatric nurse is an APRN with a master’s or doctorate in psychiatric nursing, a national psychiatric mental health advanced practice certification and 1 year of post-master’s clinical experience under a physician (s. 394.455(36)).
Check each part on the candidate’s credentials: the title decides who may prescribe psychiatric controlled substances to patients under 18 (see the FAQ). What every NP needs is on what APRNs and PAs may do; enrollment is on NP and PA credentialing.
Payer Panels
What mental health recruiting experts check on Medicare, Medicaid and plan panels
- Medicare. MFTs and MHCs have billed in their own name since January 1, 2024. Enrollment needs a master’s or doctor’s degree that qualifies for the license, at least 2 years or 3,000 hours of post-master’s supervised clinical experience, and the state license (Medicare enrollment).
- Florida Medicaid. Type 07 enrolls only groups and sole proprietors joining a group; full enrollment links to a community behavioral health group (type 05). Therapy providers “must be either employed or contracted with a community behavioral health agency” (Florida Medicaid enrollment).
- Commercial plans. Humana credentials practitioners licensed “to practice independently (without direction or supervision),” and Optum asks applicants to be licensed “to practice independently, without any supervision or oversight,” with exceptions for a master’s-level psychiatric clinical nurse specialist, a PA and a behavior analyst. Mental health credentialing and payer enrollment have each plan’s requirements.
DCF Programs
Behavioral health recruiters for DCF-licensed substance use programs
In a DCF-licensed program, a qualified professional is a physician or PA, a professional licensed under chapter 490 or 491, an APRN, or a person certified through a department-recognized process for substance abuse treatment services who holds at least a bachelor’s degree; a person certified in another state at hire may serve as one but must meet Florida’s certification within 1 year (s. 397.311).
Owners, directors, chief financial officers and clinical supervisors are Level 2 screened, as is staff in direct contact with children or developmentally disabled adults (s. 397.4073(1)(a)); AHCA background screening explains the Clearinghouse.
“‘Clinical supervisor’ means a person who meets the requirements of a qualified professional whose functions include managing personnel who provide direct clinical services or maintaining lead responsibility for the overall coordination and provision of clinical services.”
Miami Pay
Mental health recruiters’ pay data: Miami counselors, therapists and social workers
The metro’s 10,240 counselors earned $39,650 to $83,910 between the 10th and 90th percentiles, and its 720 psychiatrists a median $403,430, off this scale. BLS does not separate psychiatric NPs.
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, read Oct 20, 2026.
What’s included
What our mental health recruiters help with
HR and staff training
Job descriptions, onboarding and orientation for each clinician you hire.
Learn moreClinical supervision
Guidance, training and case and documentation review for clinical staff, by or under an appropriately licensed professional.
Learn moreMental health credentialing
Enroll LCSWs, LMHCs, LMFTs and psychiatric NPs with behavioral networks, Medicare and Florida Medicaid.
Learn moreVerify a Florida license
How to check a clinician's license, intern registration and board orders on MQA before the offer.
Learn moreOIG exclusion checks
How to run and document OIG exclusion checks on every hire, before the offer and monthly.
Learn moreAHCA background screening
Who needs Level 2 screening and how the Clearinghouse works for staff in licensed programs.
Learn moreQuick answers
Mental health recruiters: what behavioral health practices ask
The Counseling Compact, interns on telehealth and in Medicaid, psychiatric NPs and teenagers, and questions for a recruiting firm. Bring yours to a consultation.
Does the Counseling Compact let me hire a counselor licensed in another state?
Can a registered intern see clients by telehealth?
Can a registered intern deliver Florida Medicaid therapy?
Can a psychiatric NP prescribe controlled substances to teenagers?
What should I ask a mental health recruiting firm before I sign?
Talk to an advisor
You care for patients. Who’s taking care of the business?
Tell us where your practice is today. We will tell you what we would do first.
Official sources
All read Oct 20, 2026.
- Florida Statutes (2026): ss. 394.455, 397.311, 397.4073, 456.47, 464.012, 491.0045, 491.005, 491.017; Rule 64B4-2.002 (amended July 6, 2026)
- CMS, MFT and MHC page (July 20, 2026), Benefit Policy Manual ch. 15 and Claims Processing Manual ch. 12
- AHCA, Provider Enrollment Policy (Feb 2026) and Behavioral Health Therapy Services Coverage Policy (Nov 2019)
- Counseling Compact Commission (Oct 19, 2026 update); Humana, credentialing policy; Optum, credentialing plan (2026-2027)
- Florida DOH, MQA Annual Report FY 2025-26, Table 1; BLS wages (May 2025, through its API)