The Mental Health Clinic Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) provides counseling and therapy services to Veterans and family receiving care in the outpatient Mental Health Clinic at the Salisbury VA Medical Center. In collaboration with the interdisciplinary medical team, the LMFT evaluates the Veteran's presenting psychosocial problems and facilitates access to the resources that can most appropriately minimize the Veteran's psychosocial stressors.

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS (entry level GS 9) Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.) Education: Candidates must meet one of the following: 1) Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE, 2) Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution, OR 3) 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. --Note: Transcripts are required with your application Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0182 series in Veterans Health Administration (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. --NOTE: 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. MFTs that are not licensed at the time of appointment must become licensed at the independent level (Journey level) within three years of their appointment as a MFT. Most States require two years of post-graduate MFT experience as a pre-requisite to taking the licensure examination; VHA allows MFTs one additional year to pass the licensure exam. It is VHA policy that a MFT who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be clinically supervised by an AAMFT approved licensed MFT at or above the journey level who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. Failure to Obtain License: In all cases, unlicensed MFTs must actively pursue meeting State prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the Human Resource Officer will provide the unlicensed MFT with the written requirements for licensure, the date by which the license must be obtained, and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to obtain a license by the prescribed date will result in removal from the GS-0182 MFT series and may result in termination of employment. Loss of Licensure: Once licensed, MFTs must maintain a full, current and unrestricted license to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure will result in removal from the GS-0182 MFT series and may result in termination of employment. Note: Proof of Licensure is required with your application Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency: MFTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3j. Grandfathering Provision: See VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G44 In addition to the Education and Licensure Requirements, Candidates in the entry level (GS-9)must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities(KSAs): 1) 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. 2) Ability to assess, with supervision, the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members. 3) 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. 4) 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. 5) Basic knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of marriage and family therapy. 6) Ability to draft documents, manage data, maintain accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and track quality improvements. GS-11 (Full Performance Level) Experience, Education and Licensure: 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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below. 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 to practice at the independent practice level, and they must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1) Skill to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members. 2) 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. 3) 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. 4) 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. 5) 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. 6) Skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and tracking quality improvements.

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 WG Bill Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center 1601 Brenner Avenue Salisbury, NC 28144 US
• Name: Kristopher Palmer
• Email: [email protected]