The Senior Social Worker will provide expert clinical services, primarily through the delivery of Evidence Based Psychotherapies (EBPs) to Veterans served by the VA Northern Indiana Health Care System. They will work as a member of the Mental Health Service and can be assigned to any program area including the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic, Trauma Recovery Program, Addictive Disorders Treatment Program, and Primary Care Mental Health Integration.

Duties

The Senior Social Worker shall be trained and/or receive training to develop expertise in one or more of the EBPs currently recognized by national VA Mental Health administration. Overtime, the provider will attend local, VISN, and/or national EBP competency-based trainings and be expected to be proficient in delivering EBPs for depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and chronic pain. Examples of these EBPs include but are not limited to: - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Anxiety (CBT) - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Depression and Anxiety - Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) for Depression - Social Skills Training (SST) for Serious Mental Illness - Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Problem Solving Therapy - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain In addition to serving as an active provider, the senior social worker shall provide education on evidence-based psychotherapy services. This Senior Social Worker is expected to be a role model for EBP, assist with the management of quality assurance program measurements related to EBP, and assist with ongoing program evaluation. This position may require some evening and/or weekend duties. A. Clinical Responsibilities (100% of time) 1. Provide psychological and risk assessment services, including expert assessment and diagnostic services, for Veterans with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses. 2. Provide motivational enhancement activities to prepare Veterans to participate in clinically appropriate care. 3. Provide expert individual and group Evidence-Based Psychotherapy services being nationally disseminated and implemented in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), as well as other evidence-based treatment options when clinically appropriate. 4. Provide EBP services in accordance with VHA Handbook 1160.05 Local Implementation of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for Mental and Behavioral Health Conditions. 5. Provide services via clinical video telehealth to CBOCs and the home when indicated. 6. Provide psychoeducation and family/relationship counseling when indicated. 7. Provide education to Veterans and staff about the availability, effectiveness, and utility of EBPs for various mental and behavioral health conditions. 8. Provide expert consultation to providers within and outside of mental health to assist in diagnosis and treatment. 9. Promote communication/interactions between medical team members, Veterans, and their families to facilitate the medical treatment process. 10. Receive competency-based supervision in EBPs until competency requirements in VHA Handbook 1160.05 are obtained. 11. Participate in ongoing consultation in EBPs. 12. Establish treatment plans in accordance with Medical Center and Mental Health service policies. 13. Complete all documentation within timeframes established by Medical Center and Mental Health Service policies. 14. Provide limited supportive psychotherapy (3 sessions max). The position is intended to provide EBP treatment predominantly. If a Veteran is not willing to engage in an EBP they should be referred to non-EBP provider (general mental health, peer support, etc.). Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm (some evening clinics may be required) Telework: Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 91304-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. ? 7403(f). Education. Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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: Preferred Experience: Experience working with Severe Mental Illness populations Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. (d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. (e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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 Northern Indiana HCS 1700 East 38th Street Marion, IN 46953 US
• Name: Andrea Bower
• Phone: 765-617-2998
• Email: [email protected]