Social Worker - Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs Counselor

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Identifies problems/needs from the assessment to be treated and develops the individual treatment plan
• Provides individual professional input and addressing the social aspect of the patient's situation with the treatment team
• Assists Veterans and the treatment team in navigating problems in the residential milieu
• Ensures all case management as assigned for the duration of the Veteran's admission through post-discharge follow-up
• Conducts therapeutic counseling in accordance with specific guidelines and handles crises regularly with minimal supervision
• Serves as therapist/counselor with individuals and groups
• Observes and documents behavior and reaction patterns of patients to be utilized by the multidisciplinary treatment team - and final disposition for follow-up
• Develops and conducts lectures and educational presentations for patients related to various specialty aspects of general mental health - substance use disorder - post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - or Serious Mental Illness (SMI)
• Educates the veteran - their families - and the team on all the options available to them and will collaborate with the veteran and family on the preferred option
• Develops - organizes - and implements a wide variety of outpatient aftercare treatment for patients and their collaterals
• Develops and implements methods to motivate veterans to attend aftercare and/or participate in the outpatient program
• Transports veterans to assist them in assessing resources or taking care of essential business
• Government vehicle will be used as well as all processes - trainings - and requirements related to Government vehicle use
• Collaborates with other service providers in reassessing the Veteran's needs
• Educates the veteran and/or caregiver about the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference or that of the surrogate decision-maker
• Serves as a field instructor - preceptor - and/or mentor to interns - new/unlicensed - or newly licensed clinicians and peers as needed
• Enters all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate/approved formats and templates
• Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with employees - volunteers - consumers - and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies
• Attends all appropriate staff meetings - team meetings - committee meetings - or group meetings and perform other duties as required
• Collaborates in the performance improvement process and complies with performance measures as required by the appropriate program offices and local policies
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment
• Offers consultation to 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 clinical practice skills
• Demonstrates the ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday
• 7:30am - 4:00pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May Be Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact Amber.Guinotte@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more 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) Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 51236-A
• 51237-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized