This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. 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 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) serves within the Cincinnati VA Medical Center's (CVAMC) Substance Dependence Program (SUDEP). The incumbent is licensed at the state's independent practice level. This provider serves as part of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team directed toward providing mental health services to veterans requiring care. This LPMHC provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic assessment, therapeutic and psycho-educational interventions as well as consultative services to other clinical specialties. The position entails the assessment and provision of substance use disorder-related and mental health treatment for veterans presenting to the Substance Dependence Program (SUDEP). The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) will primarily work with patients in the Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP). The incumbent will be responsible for following procedures for meeting needs of patients and present these cases for feedback to treatment team. This includes maintaining an active caseload and helping to coordinate their care through their residential stay. The LPMHC conducts psychosocial assessments to assess substance use and risk factors among veterans participating in residential care. They will also conduct psychosocial assessments using the Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM). The incumbent develops an integrated diagnostic summary, to include a SNAP assessment to document strengths, needs, abilities and preferences. The LPMHC works with the veteran to develop treatment plans and additionally offers psychosocial interventions while measuring treatment outcome during treatment plan review. The incumbent is skilled in providing individual and group psychotherapy and psycho educational groups. They will also give presentations to the VA staff and the SUDEP program. The LPMHC will aid in the collection of urine toxicology screens as needed and utilize these results as a tool for assessing patient status and treatment plan development. The incumbent also routinely makes referrals to both internal and external resources to coordinate extended care and additional supportive resources for the veteran and their family. The incumbent provides consultation services to other staff, including trainees, about psychosocial needs of patients, participates in treatment planning with the multidisciplinary team and when making consults to other providers. The incumbent may serve as a field instructor, working with counseling graduate students. The incumbent can communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. The incumbent will provide clinical, education, or research-related services in any service or clinic within SUDEP at any time at the discretion of the SUDEP or MHCL leadership. The incumbent can be a member of any SUDEP or Mental Health Care Line team, performing any function relating to independent LMPHC knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Other duties and assignments as instructed by the Director of SUDEP, or her/his designee. The incumbent may be deployed to another area at the discretion of the SUDEP or MHCL leadership. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00am -4:30pm. One weekend a month Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 91477-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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 Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. Education Requirement - You must hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; 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. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0101 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. 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: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-11(Full Performance Level) Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of post-master's or post- doctoral degree mental health counseling experience (VA or non-VA experience) and must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level and demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (c) below. LPMHCs may provide clinical supervision over the clinical practice of an unlicensed LPMHC or LPMHC trainee. Some state licenses do not license an individual to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs. Please refer to specific state licensing laws regarding the requirements for providing clinical supervision. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-9 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 1. Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation. 2. Advanced knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counseling process which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining an effective counseling relationship. 3. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the counseling process within various specialty areas, build on the foundation of competence through regular meetings and discussions to explain assignments, review progress of cases and confer about the counseling perspectives and orientation. 4. Ability to provide complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill. 5. Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced- based practices, screening, and psychosocial assessment. 6. Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or familial counseling interventions; demonstrates sensitivity to diversity and possesses multicultural counseling skills. 7. Ability to fully utilize the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention using professional counseling practices. 8. Ability to develop and facilitate psychotherapy and psycho- education groups that include life skills, family support, and community integration. This may include evidence based psychotherapy References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G43 LPMHC Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve active listening, reading, observing and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, walking, speaking, documenting, and using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines. A valid driver's license is required.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Cincinnati VA Medical Center 3200 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45220 US
• Name: Rhonda McCubbin
• Email: [email protected]