The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor is located within VA Western New York Healthcare System (VAWNYHS). This is a complexity level 1b facility with two (2) medical campuses and six (6) rural Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). The position is located in the Behavioral Health Care Line, assigned to the Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic. The licensed Mental Health Counselor provides counseling services to the Veteran population enrolled at the VA WNY Healthcare System.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to the duties below: Uses a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of Veterans referred to the Behavioral Health Clinic. The incumbent completes thorough psychosocial assessments as part of the consult process when the Veteran is initially referred to the Behavioral Health Clinic. Other social work services include short-term, solution focused counseling with individuals and families who may be in crisis, supportive counseling, and referral for resources and benefits Utilizes a high level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans in the Behavioral Health Clinic. The incumbent works independently with Veterans who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems. Completes thorough psychosocial assessments to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans. The incumbent must be able to utilize this assessment in facilitating the creation of a recovery focused treatment plan for attainment of the highest level of independence that is possible and practicable. The treatment plan is created in collaboration with the Veteran and with the Veteran's permission family members/significant others, and members of the outpatient treatment team to assure a patient centered plan with achievable goals This will include providing care in the case of consults involving highly complex couples and family issues, being available to work with high risk cases, and providing case consultation as requested. This includes provision of clinical assessments, individual, couples, family, and group therapy as appropriate, with an emphasis on evidence based approaches. Must possess a working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00AM-4:30PM Telework: Eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. 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. 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-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. NOTE: It is VHA policy that a LPMHC who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. Grade Determinations: 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 postdoctoral degree mental health counseling experience (VA or non-VA experience) and must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level. 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. In addition to meeting the requirements above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. This may include evidence-based psychotherapy. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 This position is being filled at the full performance level.

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 VA Western New York Healthcare System 3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 US
• Name: Karl McPherson
• Phone: 518-466-6400
• Email: [email protected]