Job opening: Senior Social Worker (Mental Health)
Salary: $92 784 - 120 620 per year
Published at: Dec 19 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
The incumbent typically practices in specialty treatment program areas such as a Polytrauma, Spinal Cord Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. Also is assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. The position is assigned to the Newburg Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC).
Duties
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
The incumbent is required to utilize evidenced based practice including but not limited to the following: Cognitive-behavior therapy, Problem Solving Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive processing therapy, Prolonged exposure therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, Family therapy, Group therapy, Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness.
Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veterans including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
Provides advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with polytrauma injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions, and other serious disorders.
Offers consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialty areas, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills.
Monitors the efficiency, effectiveness, timeliness, quality of services offered within the program area.
Reviews relevant data, assesses the data, develops, and implement ideas for improvement.
Provides consultation and technical assistance and mentoring to a group of employees performing work at various GS levels, particularly those at the entry level.
Provides assessments and referral services to community agencies, ensures that staff is resourceful and has up to date knowledge regarding community and VA resources.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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.
Applicants must have a valid driver's license.
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.
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/.
English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
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: Senior Social Worker- GS-12
Senior Social Workers 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.
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.
In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
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.
Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
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.
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.
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 Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39
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 Robley Rex VA Medical Center
800 Zorn Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
US
- Name: Lisa Harris
- Email: [email protected]
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