This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement 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

The Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor - Suicide Prevention Team (SLPMHC - SPT) facilitates the implementation of suicide prevention strategies within the Community Programs Section under the Mental Health/Behavioral Sciences Service (MHBSS), located at the James A. Haley Veterans' Administration Hospital (JAHVAH) in Tampa, FL. The SLPMHC - SPT is directly responsible for the programmatic coordination of the program to which assigned including program management, care coordination/delivery, and Veteran/family education. This position will focus on program management, data tracking, clinical Responsibilities, research and special committees. The incumbent will report directly to the Suicide Prevention Program Team Lead who reports to the Specialty Programs Section Chief. The mental health services provided by the SLPMHC - SPT include the identification of veterans at high risk; coordinating enhanced care when needed. The health care, psychosocial problems and needs of Veterans served are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. This requires the SLPMHC - SPT to have responsibility for assessment, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment/aftercare planning, case management, individual/group therapy, referral to other programs as needed, consultation with other providers, and tracking/monitoring complex care needs. Consequently, the SLPMHC - SPT must possess advanced clinical experience in the areas of psychotherapy, case management, team building, program development, and clinic program coordination. The position also requires the incumbent to assist the MHBSS Team Lead at the Lakeland MHC along with the Community Programs Section Chief (CPSC) in developing, implementing, and refining services offered. Senior LPMHCs will provide clinical supervision to LPMHC staff and/or LPMHC trainees, and may serve as the subject matter expert for the discipline. Senior LPMHCs develop behavioral health related training curriculum and often conduct trainings for clinical staff. Duties include but are not limited to: Ensures contact is made with veterans who have been identified as surviving an attempt or who are identified as being high risk. Personal contact will be made with the veteran and the SLPMHC - SPT will establish US mail contact with him/her in order to provide an "enhanced care" model of prevention which maintains communication with the Veteran Provides follow up on consults (within 24 business hours) received from the VA Suicide Hotline to assure timely access to care and follow-up for patients in crisis. When needed, will expedite veteran enrollment into the VA. Exclusively controls the Category I Patient Record Flag as it relates to suicide and limits its use to patients who meet the criteria of being placed on the facility high risk list. Maintains the list of patients who have a Category I Patient Record Flag for suicide and reviews the list at least every 90 days. Responsible for managing and overseeing the Behavioral Autopsy protocol for Polk county. Participates in individual RCA's concerning patients who have attempted or committed Establishes relationships with local and state suicide prevention organizations, local crisis line organizations, and local Veteran Service Organizations (VSO's). Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor EDRP Authorized: You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. If you have any questions or concerns once selected for offer, please contact the VISN 8 Compensation Center of Excellence at [email protected] Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date 09/20/2023 of this announcement. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j. Education: Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling OR Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling OR 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 LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. GS-12 Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselorcandidates must have the following: Experience, Education, and Licensure: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior LPMHCs must have five years of post-licensed experience 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. Experience satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice at the post- master's degree level, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional mental health counselor. Experience is only creditable if it is post- master's degree experience as a mental health counselor directly related to the position to be filled. AND Licensure: At this grade level, 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. Applicants must also be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs. Loss of Licensure: Once licensed, LPMHCs must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted license to independently practice mental health counseling, which includes diagnosis and treatment. Loss of licensure will result in removal from the GS-183 LPMHC occupation and may result in termination of employment. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. If selected, you may be required to submit narrative responses then. These are the KSA's for this position: 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. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/106, Part II, Appendix G43, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Qualification Standard, dated April 3, 2018. Physical Requirements: - Frequent standing, walking, bending, sitting, crouching/kneeling, and changing from one position to the other frequently throughout the day. - Sitting at a desk and using upper extremities to reach, grasp, and place papers, charts, and binders. - Reaching, lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling: 1-10 pounds constantly, 10-25 pounds frequently, and 20-50 pounds occasionally. This position requires good manual dexterity to manipulate tools and equipment with examples that may include, but are not limited to the following: - Operating all aspects of a computer - keyboarding, mouse, and control buttons.

Education

Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling OR Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling OR 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 LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling.

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.


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 James A Haley Veterans Hospital 13000 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard Tampa, FL 33612 US
• Name: Ashley Beaver
• Phone: (814) 943-8164
• Email: [email protected]