Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (locally called the PCMHI LPMHC) is a full-time position assigned to Mental Health Intensive Case Management program, Health Care for Homeless Veteran program, Vocational Rehabilitation services, Suicide Prevention program, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Program, Transition and Care Management Services and Polytrauma services as well as Primary Care Mental Health Integrated services.

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. Education: Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: 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 LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0183 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment. NOTE: It is VHA policy that a LPMHC who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. 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: Preferred Experience: One year of post-master's experience as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor. Grade Determinations: GS-9 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Entry Level) a) Experience, Education, and Licensure. The entry level is used for LPMHCs with less than one year of post-master's degree experience or for LPMHCs who are graduates, not yet licensed at the independent practice level.GS-11 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Full Performance Level)(a) Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least 1 year of post-master's degree mental health counseling experience; OR In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in mental health counseling, or a related field may be substituted for the required 1 year of professional mental health counseling experience. GS-11 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Full Performance Level)(a) Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least 1 year of post-master's degree mental health counseling experience; OR In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in mental health counseling, or a related field may be substituted for the required 1 year of professional mental health counseling experience. In addition, incumbent must demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) listed below: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. Ability to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the patient's problems, strengths, interdisciplinary treatment team. Ability to independently conduct psychosocial assessments and provide psychosocial treatment to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. This requires knowledge of human development and behavior (physical and psychological) and the differential influences of the environment, society and culture. Knowledge and experience in the use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. Knowledge of psychosocial treatment and ability to independently implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving or crisis intervention techniques. Ability to independently provide counseling and/or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups and families. LPMHC must practice within the bounds of their license or certification. Ability to provide consultation services to other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. Ability to provide orientation and coaching to new LPMHC's and counseling graduate students. Ability to serve as a field instructor for mental health counselor graduate students who are completing VHA field placements. Ability to independently evaluate his/her own practice through participation in professional peer review case conferences, research studies, or other organized means. Knowledge and skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, and tracking, especially those programs in use by VHA. Reference: VA Handbook 5005/50, part II, Appendix G43 For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary.