NOTE: Readjustment Counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker, Psychologist, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, and Marriage & Family Therapist. Each discipline is announced separately, and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.

Duties

As a Marriage and Family Therapist you will ensure the delivery of evidence-based practices in suicide prevention and crisis intervention, applying the techniques of: Engagement, Assessment, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. The incumbent is expected to be able to provide crisis risk assessment skills in order to ensure the provision of emergency crisis interventions to a complex and high-risk population. The incumbent will also provide specialty consultation to and collaboration with a network of Veteran Crisis Lines, Suicide Prevention Coordinators across all regions nationwide and approved constituents (e.g., family, VA providers, Coaching into Care, Caregivers Support, Veterans Service Officers, law enforcement, etc.) to coordinate expedited connection to treatment programs support resources and emergency services as needed guidelines, and issues pertaining to the practice of the profession. Duties will also include but not limited to:

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:Education: Candidates must meet one of the following: Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE; Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution; OR Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in a comparable mental health degree (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, and Psychiatry) that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0101 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted MFT license to independently practice marriage and family therapy in a State. Exception: The Secretary, or his/her designee, may waive the licensure requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of State prerequisites for licensure examinations for a period not to exceed three years from the date of employment on the condition that MFTs appointed on this basis provide care only under the supervision of a fully licensed MFT with an AAMFT approved license. Non-licensed MFTs who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given an appointment as an MFT under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7401(3). This exception only applies at the entry grade level (GS-9). For grades at or above the full performance level, the candidate must be licensed. Grade Requirements: GS-9 Marriage and Family Therapist (Entry Level) - GS-9 is the entry level grade for the GS-101 Marriage and Family Therapist series and is used for licensed MFTs with less than one year of experience (post-master's degree) or for MFTs (master's or doctoral level) who are graduates not yet licensed at the independent (Journey) level. Unlicensed MFTs at the GS-9 level have completed the required education listed above, and are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure. In addition, the candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below: Knowledge of human development throughout the lifespan, interventions based on research and family systems theory and therapy, formal diagnostic criteria, risk assessment, evidence-based practice and assessment tools. Ability to assess, with supervision, the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members. Knowledge to formulate, implement, and re-evaluate a treatment plan through continuous assessment identifying the Veteran's challenges, strengths, readiness to change, external influences and current events surrounding the origins and maintenance of the presenting issue, and interactional patterns within the client system. Ability to provide counseling and/or psychotherapy services, under supervision, to individuals, groups, couples and families in a culturally competent manner that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing of the client system. Basic knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of marriage and family therapy. Ability to draft documents, manage data, maintain accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and track quality improvements. GS-11 Marriage and Family Therapist (Full Performance Level) - In addition to the basic requirements, the GS-11 full performance level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-master's degree experience in the field of marriage and family therapy work (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure in a State at the independent practice level. OR In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable degree in mental health that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, and Psychiatry) may be substituted for the required one year of marriage and family therapy experience in a clinical setting. AND The candidate must be licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist to practice at the independent practice level. AND They must demonstrate the following KSAs: Skill to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members. Ability to provide counseling and/or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, couples and families in a culturally competent manner that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing the client system. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Veterans and their families, colleagues, and other professionals in collaboration throughout treatment regarding clinical, ethical and legal issues and concerns. Knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, regulations and VA policies affecting the practice of marriage and family therapy. This includes the ability to assist Veterans and their families in making informed decisions relevant to treatment to include limits of confidentiality. Ability to provide orientation, training and consultation to new MFTs including clinical oversight of MFT graduate students, and/or provide clinical supervision to pre-licensure MFTs. Skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and tracking quality improvements. References: VA Handbook 5005/101 Marriage and Family Therapist Qualification Standard Appendix G44.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is either the GS-09 or the GS-11 grade level.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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 Readjustment Counseling Service 120 SE 6th Avenue, Ste. 102 Topeka, KS 66603 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]