Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor-Multi-Program Position

This job is for a Multi-Program Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC)- MST/Trauma/Family Services independently performs duties and responsibilities by providing a high level of professional LPMHC services to clients. This position is within the Mental Health Special Services at VHMC Cincinnati. The LPMHC exercises mature professional judgment and uses a flexible, wide range of professional skills and techniques in working with clients who present with complicated cases.

Qualifications:

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.

Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).

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 3 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.

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).

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate ALL of the KSAs below:

• Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority of services needed and provide specialized treatment.
• Advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities for Veterans with complex needs. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling, or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial, and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans.
• Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on data.
• Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients, rendering professional opinions based on experience, expertise and role modeling effective clinical skills.
• Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications.
• Ability to engage in written and oral communication with leadership/staff and community stakeholders regarding policies, procedures, practice guidelines, and issues pertaining to the practice of the profession.

Preferred Experience:

• Couples/Family Therapy and Trauma Treatment

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Responsibilities:

Duties and responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Conducts assessments, triages patient needs appropriately and develops treatment plan, assessments are based on presenting need and may include biopsychosocial assessments, cognitive and behavioral assessment, brief crisis assessments, and brief diagnostic assessments.
• Offers consultation to interdisciplinary colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialty areas, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills.
• Provides consultation to both medical providers and Veterans to address psychosocial and behavioral health care needs of the Veteran and in collaboration with interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family, and significant others. Including collateral assignments working collaboratively within medical/surgical/in-patient and mental health settings as assigned.
• Developing/consulting on the treatment plan with interdisciplinary teams, setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family and providing behavioral health care utilizing advanced clinical judgment to determine the appropriate treatment intervention for the Veteran and their loved ones.
• Promoting whole health, preventing illness, and aiding with adaptive coping. Treatments include evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health/behavioral health conditions as indicated.
• Provides clinical interventions independently and in various VA and community settings.
• Provide services after hours and on weekends on a flexible schedule.
• Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with Veterans and their loved ones through engagement, rapport building, instilling hope, and offering support.
• Utilizes advanced clinical training, insight, and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options.
• Provides explanation of different treatment options/levels of care available and why one treatment option/level of care may be more beneficial to the Veteran and their loved ones than another.
• Utilizes advanced clinical skills and training to provide interventions to Veterans considered a high-risk population and their loved ones. Educate these Veterans and their loved ones about communication skills and problem-solving skills in an effort to prevent relapse and reduce recidivism rates.
• Provides VA and community resources and the veteran and their loved one with referrals to services as needed.
• Collaborate with other programs and disciplines to promote continuity of care while providing treatment interventions in conjunction with other services the Veteran may be receiving.
• Facilitates group psychotherapy and evidenced based practices, makes appropriate referrals.
• Collaborates with Medical Center staff on projects to improve patient care and resolving problems that might negatively impact patient care.
• Consults for MST/Family Services and on occasion IPVAP.
• Consults with various treatment teams within Mental Health Service, Social Work Service, Primary Care, Medicine Services and other programs regarding Veteran issues and treatment options.
• Provides education and training on various evidence-based treatment practices.
• Participates in the writing of policies, procedures, and practice guidelines.
• Utilizes outcome evaluations to further treatment and designs systems changes based on empirical findings.
• Provides supervision for LPMHC's seeking independent licensure or specialty certifications.
• May supervise and mentor LPMHC students and interns as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 930810
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $93,231