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 as a Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) Coordinator for Cheyenne, WY, which is assigned concurrently to the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) and functions as part of the Multidisciplinary Treatment Team comprised of professional and para-professional Mental Health Staff involved in case assessment, treatment, and discharge planning. The incumbent offers Psycho-social Assessment and Treatment to eligible Veterans (Vietnam, WWII, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Persian Gulf War, OEF/OIF) and their families and/or significant others. Duties will include direct service provision and consultation with interdisciplinary staff and other facility leaders. Duties in mental health care settings will include direct service provision. The SPC's contacts with patients and families are to provide professional services in relation to the patient's illness and course of treatment with other professional staff to provide and/or receive consultation and to carry out team functions. Contacts with community agencies are to refer and/or consult in relation to collateral or follow-up services to patients and families, as well as to encourage appropriate case referrals to the SPC. The SPC's functions include but are not limited to: Provides supportive counseling in the development and utilization of community resources. Maintains a list of patients determined to be currently high-risk for suicide and monitor their care to assure that needed services are being received by telephone contact. As needed or appropriate, consults/collaborates with providers of high-risk patients for purposes of education and facilitating best practice. May optionally provide direct patient care for same purpose. Provides training to clinical and non-clinical staff in the Medical Center, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's) and community about risk factors, warning signs, treatment options and resources. Promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and strategies for suicide prevention in the Medical Center. Co-chairs with patient safety officer the RCA (Root Cause Analysis) Suicide Team by performing individual case reviews, assisting with preparation of quarterly aggregate summaries, and facilitating recommended system improvements. Responds to consults from the Suicide Prevention Hotline as soon as possible and contacts Veterans to engage them in treatment and reports back to the Hotline Staff about the results of interventions. Facilitates assessment of Suicide in the facility using the Phq 2/9 Facilitates implementation of reporting high-risk patients through use of the Suicide Behavior Report. Facilitates the implementation of Level II Flags per Central Office Directives. Implements Guide Training throughout CVAHCS, CBOC's, and in the community and sends evaluations to the Center of Excellence. Acts as a liaison to community organizations and Veterans organizations. Provides Tracking Reports to the Center of Excellence for data compilation once a month. Assures that all Veterans on the facility tracking list are being followed closely by the appropriate provider on a regular basis as determined by the coordinator and the provider. Tracks any no-show appointments by these patients and following up with the patient as soon as possible to reschedule the appointment. Maintains awareness of suicide treatment options and making recommendations to the patient's provider when new options become available. Obtains any relevant HIPAA clearances to allow transmittal of facility data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk to the VISN 19 MIRECC for trending and quality assurance purposes; and transmitting the data following cyber security requirements as applicable for this sensitive data. Assures that all of these patients have a 24-hour resource number to call and ways to get assistance if an immediate crisis should occur. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.- Alternate work schedule may be considered with supervisor review and approval, depending on needs of the clinic Compressed/Flexible: May be available with supervisor review and approval, depending on needs of the clinic Telework: Hybrid telework/face to face modality may be considered with supervisor review and approval, depending on needs of the clinic Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 53133-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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: 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. Education: 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-0183 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. Grandfather Provision. All persons employed in VHA in as LPMHC on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. English Language Proficiency: LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English. Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator), GS-12: Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level which includes: Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation. Advanced knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counseling process which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining an effective counseling relationship 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. Ability to provide complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill. Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced- based practices, screening, and psychosocial assessment. Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or familial counseling interventions; demonstrates sensitivity to diversity and possesses multicultural counseling skills. 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. Ability to develop and facilitate psychotherapy and psycho- education groups that include life skills, family support, and community integration. Experience must have been in a major specialty treatment program area such as, but not limited to, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), or other areas of equivalent scope and complexity. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: In depth knowledge of the program coordinated, and demonstrated knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to make key decisions in the hiring and identification of top candidates. Ability to provide leadership in facilitating the process of coordinating program consults, assessments, admissions, care assignments and discharges. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to other colleagues and trainees within the field of counseling working on an interdisciplinary team. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/106, PART II, APPENDIX G43, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor qualification standards. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Typically, the employee sits comfortably indoors to do the work. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking; standing; sitting, bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile; etc. Use of fingers, both hands required, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16", hearing (aid permitted), clear distinctive speech.

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 Cheyenne VA Medical Center 2360 East Pershing Boulevard Cheyenne, WY 82001 US
• Name: Carrie Konowicz
• Phone: 303-202-8633
• Email: [email protected]