The Addiction Therapist position is located in West Los Angeles in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in the Mental Health - Domiciliary. The primary purpose of the position is to provide direct substance treatment to Veterans in the Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program.

Duties

Conducts interviews, uses questionnaires or other measurement devices, or observes the patient to assess emotional, functional or psychological condition. Follows established procedures to conduct the initial screening of individuals gathering social drug, family and military history and reasons for referral. Provides the results and disposition recommendations to the program coordinator or other higher graded professional. Provides individual and group counseling services to patients and their families. Observes patient behaviors and reaction patterns for use by higher level professions or in reviewing and in modifying patient's treatment plan. Acts as a liaison/resource person to public and private agencies to assure continuity of patient care and appropriate referral for patient and family members. Mobilizes community service structures to enhance the recovery process. Provides individual and group counseling, makes appropriate referral to community or other professional resources as necessary for effective rehabilitation. Conducts therapeutic short-term, in depth counseling in accordance with specific guidelines and may occasionally handle crisis intervention or emergency situations. Refers patients with unusual substance abuse related problems to a designated professional clinical staff member. Functions as a facilitator or co-facilitator providing counseling on everyday problems that surround inappropriate use/misuses of alcohol or other drugs. Identifies patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Promotes patient independence and achievement of optimal health through appropriate psychosocial education and community referrals. Determines patient's eligibility for treatment using established guidance makes routine determinations of eligibility. Determines appropriate treatment or rehabilitation for individual patients. Recommends and assists the patient in setting standards of behavior and goals for evaluation of progress. Maintains appropriate records, charting information necessary to ensure an accurate portrayal of the patient's activities, condition and progress. Evaluates patient's records on a recurring basis to assess the current condition and progress. Identifies patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Not Suitable Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Addiction Therapist/PD13567A and PD13568A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/18/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Conducts interviews, uses questionnaires or other measurement devices, OR Observes the patient to assess emotional, functional or psychological condition; OR Refers patients with unusual substance abuse related problems to a designated professional clinical staff member; OR Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Master's degree in Behavioral or Social Science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationInformation ManagementInterpersonal SkillsTherapy and Counseling Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires extreme patience and control of emotions. The work may require the using of appropriate technique to physically restrain clients who present a danger to self or others. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System 11301 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90073 US
• Name: Marie Clay
• Phone: 216-201-0922
• Email: [email protected]