Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

Summary

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.

Duties

The Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Senior LPMHC is part of the Hershel "Woody" Williams VAMC Outpatient Mental Health Clinic and serves as the Senior LPMHC in BHIP at the medical center and its Community Based Outpatient Clinics. The Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program is comprised of multidisciplinary teams of health care professionals and administrative staff that provides comprehensive, accessible patient-centered mental health care to Veterans with complex mental health needs in partnership with the Veteran (and the Veteran's supportive others). These teams manage and coordinate mental health services consistent with care goals set by the Veteran. Functions and Scope of Assigned Duties include, but are not limited to: Provides leadership in case consultation by facilitating interdisciplinary team meetings to support complex clinical mental health care. Integrates best practices to inform treatment team recommendations. Incumbent will have diverse mental health and therapeutic experience and knowledge to contribute meaningfully to discuss and collaborate on new and complex cases for treatment recommendations. Demonstrates experience in coordinating complex systems of care for mental health case management services to include internal and external referrals, resources, education, advocacy, and supportive services. Incumbent will have a comprehensive knowledge of mental health services and community resources. Conduct thorough and accurate mental health assessments requiring advanced diagnostic skills and knowledge of various mental health screening tools. Incumbent will apply advanced clinical judgement in complex differential diagnoses, identifying underlying issues and providing consultation to Veterans and other healthcare providers regarding efficacious treatment options. Develops individualized treatment plans with measurable goals for Veterans with highly complex needs, utilizing evidence-based practices and tailoring intervention to each individual's care needs. Routinely evaluates the effectives of treatment plans and updates based on current evidence based care and outcome data. Administers tools and psychometric instruments for measurement-based care to measure and improve patient outcomes. Incumbent to interpret and apply their results to improve patient outcomes, as well as integrate into the treatment planning process. Delivers advanced level individual, group and family psychotherapy for highly complex and treatment resistant cases utilizing evidence based modalities and interventions such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization Therapy (EMDR). Completes suicide risk evaluations utilizing assigned and shared templates in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) on all patients with suicidal ideation and on any patient whose record is flagged "High Risk for Suicide", or as clinically indicated. Incumbent will assess suicide risk factors, protective factors, warning signs, mental health status and make a clinical determination on lethality, severity, immediacy of risk along with appropriate treatment recommendations to mitigate risk. Collaboratively develops Suicide Safety Plans on patients identified as high risk for suicide or as clinically indicated with Veterans and family members by identifying potential triggers, internal coping strategies and protective factors. Integrates evidence-based safety planning interventions including the Veterans Crisis Line and other relevant emergency contact, resources. Provides mental health crisis intervention services to quickly and effectively respond to Veterans who are at high risk or in a mental health crisis. Incumbent will utilize de-escalation techniques and rapid assessment to coordinate an appropriate level of care, as well as postcrisis follow-up to ensure continuity and ongoing safety planning. Work Schedule: FT, M-F 8am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc only as per VA policy and Supervisor discretion. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 581-260483-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Education - 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 - Must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment. 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. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. GS-12 Senior LPMHC Experience Requirements: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, you must possess: A minimum of 5 years of post-licensed experience (with at least 1 year equivalent to the GS-11 grade level) that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise and be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs, AND; Experience that Demonstrates the following GS-11 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 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 cou