The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) works within the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Specialty Clinic treatment team providing psychotherapy services via video technology to outpatient Veterans presenting with substance use and addiction problems. The primary age of Veterans served in the clinic is normally between the ages of 18-65 or older, most of whom are men.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: a. Screening/Assessment: Independently engages in information gathering, problem identification, diagnosis, treatment planning, implementation, evaluation and follow-up. Fully utilizes the current DSM in making diagnoses, providing a concise clinical formulation, formulation of treatment goals, and application of appropriate clinical interventions using professional counseling practices. Makes professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation. b. Delivers services via video technology. c. Treatment Planning/Interventions: Independently utilizes a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions. Treatment approaches include but are not limited to cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, motivational interviewing, and motivational enhancement therapy. Establishes goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced-based practices. Provides complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. d. Serves as the Mental Health Treatment Coordinator (MHTC) for assigned veterans and conducts the duties of this role. Effectively communicates with and utilizes community agencies to facilitate treatment, discharge planning, and continuity of care. e. Possesses knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case laws, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of counseling. Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. Serves on an interdisciplinary team with focus on the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and relational functioning of individuals, groups and families and on the counseling approaches, strategies, and techniques that will best help patients function effectively. f. Complies with all documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). Maintains appropriate records and follow-up data on patients who are their responsibility. g. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients. h. Complies with peer review procedures. i. Participates as a member of VA SORCC committees as directed. Attends regular meetings in the SUD Specialty Clinic, Outpatient Behavioral Health Service line, and Behavioral Health Service Line. j. This position does not have collateral research obligations or supervisory responsibilities. k. Provides clinical supervision to LPMHC interns and unlicensed LPMHCs as assigned. l. Performs collateral duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 0800-1630 Compressed/Flexible: May be Available Telework: 6+ days/pay period Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement,02/29/2024 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: LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j. 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. Grade Determinations: Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12 (a) Experience, Education, and Licensure: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior LPMHCs must have five years of post-licensed experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise and be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs. (b) Assignments. Senior LPMHCs provide treatment to patients with complex needs including multiple mental health diagnoses, and numerous psychosocial issues, using independent judgment. LPMHCs at this level provide clinical consultation to less experienced staff which may include coordinating crisis situations. Senior LPMHCs will provide clinical supervision to LPMHC staff and/or LPMHC trainees, and may serve as the subject matter expert for the discipline. Senior LPMHCs develop behavioral health related training curriculum and often conduct trainings for clinical staff. LPMHCs model ethical and professional behaviors and standards to include multicultural awareness. Senior LPMHCs meet routinely with interprofessional team members and leadership to communicate about program and patient issues for in depth problem solving. Senior LPMHCs collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and frequently serve as a liaison. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 1. Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority of services needed and provide specialized treatment. 2. Advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities for Veterans with complex needs. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling, or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial, and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans. 3. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on data. 4. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients, rendering professional opinions based on experience, expertise and role modeling effective clinical skills. 5. Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications. 6. Ability to engage in written and oral communication with leadership/staff and community stakeholders regarding policies, procedures, practice guidelines, and issues pertaining to the practice of the profession. Preferred Experience: Experience in treatment of substance use disorders. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/106 PART II APPENDIX G43 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address White City VA Medical Center 8495 Crater Lake Highway White City, OR 97503 US
• Name: Caleb Stone
• Phone: 208-422-1315
• Email: [email protected]