Marriage and Family Therapist provides counseling and/or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, couples, and families in a culturally competent manner that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing of the client system. Marriage and Family Therapists can receive referrals through Mental Health programs to provide treatment and consultation related to Marriage and Family Services.

Duties

The Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) is assigned as a member of the Mental Health Service Line at the Jacksonville Southpoint VA clinic. Incumbent is working under the guidance of the Mental Health Program Leader and the supervision of the Chief of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service (MH&BSS). The goal of LMFT services is to enhance relationships, improve interactions between Veterans, their spouses, and families, and to promote optimal service delivery through education related to effective communication and problem-solving, military culture, and various mental and physical health disorders and their potential impact on relationships. The incumbent is an integral member of the Mental Health Clinic team and is responsible for providing clinical assessment, treatment planning, psychosocial interventions, and marriage and family evidence based therapies to Veterans and their families. Incumbent primarily provides couples and family therapy to the Veteran population at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center. Services include the provision of high quality comprehensive therapy, family advocacy, and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers and/or agencies as needed by clientele. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: The incumbent conducts mental health assessments and treatment plans and psychotherapy to individuals, families, couples and groups in order to treat a variety of mental health diagnosis and disorders. Works closely with the Substance Abuse Treatment Program, PTSD program, OEF/OIF and other Behavioral Health services to ensure a seamless transition to appropriate services for Veterans. Provides crisis intervention as needed for Veterans in Behavioral Health in the outpatient setting. Uses high level skill in assessing and treating complicated psychosocial problems. Completes thorough psychosocial assessments when the Veterans is referred and will complete thorough treatment plan when a Veteran engages in mental health services. Provides psychotherapy with individuals, couples and families, crisis intervention, supportive counseling, and referral for resources and benefits. Maintains high level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and/or their families. Works with Veterans and their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems. Participates as a member of a BHIP treatment team and actively participates through collaboration with Veterans and family as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members, including but not limited to Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists, Social Workers, LPMHCs, RNs, Peer Support Specialists and Administrative Support staff, in the development and implementation of a treatment plan. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not available. Telework: May be available for highly qualified candidates. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Marriage and Family Therapist, FS # 000000/52110F. 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: 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: MFTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3j. 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. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0182 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. 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. e. 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. f. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. g. 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-11 Marriage and Family Therapist (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 in subparagraph (b) 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 KSA. 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 provide narrative responses. These are the KSA's for this position: Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to meeting the KSAs for GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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 Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/101, Part II, Appendix G44, Marriage and Family Therapist Qualification Standard. The Full Performance Level of this position is the GS-11 grade level. Physical Requirements: The work requires patience and emotional regulation. The work may require using appropriate techniques to physically restrain patients who present a danger to self or others. The work may also require assisting physically disabled Veterans. Day-to-day work involves sitting, walking, standing and carrying light objects. Some of the work is performed in a setting away from the office, where the environment cannot be controlled.

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 Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1601 Southwest Archer Road Gainesville, FL 32608 US
• Name: Alexander Torelli
• Phone: (561) 422-7553 X27553
• Email: [email protected]