Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor
What you'd do
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
Major duties
This position is approved for the Education Debt Reduction Program (ERDP) which will pay up to $200,000 in qualifying student loans over a term of five years! The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor exercises full professional responsibility to provide effective services to veterans with substance use disorder or mental health disorders. These services include, but are not limited to, individual, group and family psychotherapy, patient health education, referral, aftercare planning, and follow up. The LPMHC employs recovery and evidence-based practices. LPMHC's may be involved in program evaluation or research activities. Major Duties and Responsibilities: Provides a full range of psychological assessment service and diagnoses mental disorders Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others Provides mental health crisis evaluations, completion of risk assessment, safety planning, and required high risk evaluation and notes Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy Provides consultation to professional staff and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients with substance use disorders Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for patients receiving services within designated treatment areas to include measurement based tools Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes) Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the MHBMS ACOS (or designee), Chief of Psychology (or designee), and facility Director Other related duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8am to 430pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 693-03882-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Learn more
What you need to qualify
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Language: Applicants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Education: You must hold a master's or doctoral degree in one of the following. Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling OR A related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include but are not limited to Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling. CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from http://www.cacrep.org/directory/. NOTE: Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. Licensure: You must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment, or are pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure. Grandfather Provision: An LPMHC employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (4/3/2018) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-11) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting the full qualification requirements. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience as a LPMHC equivalent to the GS-09 grade level. GS-11 Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the criteria listed above, you must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation. Advanced knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counseling process which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining an effective counseling relationship. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the counseling process within various specialty areas, build on the foundation of competence through regular meetings and discussions to explain assignments, review progress of cases and confer about the counseling perspectives and orientation. Ability to provide complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill. Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced- based practices, screening, and psychosocial assessment. Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions. Ability to fully utilize the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention using professional counseling practices. Ability to develop and facilitate psychotherapy and psycho- education groups that include life skills, family support, and community integration. This may include evidence based psychotherapy. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
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