The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is seeking a Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor to act as the Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator (CEPC). The incumbent will be assigned to the Suicide Prevention Program, Assessment and Intensive Treatment (AIT) Division, as a part of the Mental Health Care Line (MHCL). This program provides services to Veterans in Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana service area.

Duties

Duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: The Senior (LPMHC) / CEPC for a , reporting directly to the Suicide Prevention Coordinator. The Senior (LPMHC) is responsible for outreach and coalition-building aimed to promote evidence-based practices to suicide prevention in the community. VA is promoting this public health strategy in an effort to more effectively work toward eliminating Veteran Suicide. The CEPC will work to deploy best practices which are evidence based into the community by engaging stakeholders in coalitions to support this shared mission. This position requires professional administrative expertise, mature judgment, tact, discretion, and the ability to interact with a variety of contacts in an effective and professional manner. The incumbent must be able to understand a wide variety of issues and policies in order to ensure program goals and objectives are met. The incumbent must understand the gravity and responsibility of the position, and be able to prioritize, problem solve, and monitor processes so that efficiency, accuracy, and VA compliances are maintained. He or She must also understand the utility of professional consultation and will be someone who has demonstrated an ability to use it successfully. The incumbent must successfully interface with individuals and groups with a wide variety of educational levels, socioeconomic backgrounds, divergent opinions, and priorities. The incumbent has responsibilities that include, and skills that involve: Assessing Veteran risk for suicide- Identifying appropriate clinical interventions for intervening to prevent suicide and understanding that these may vary based on individual veteran needs Be well versed in evidence-based strategies for reducing suicide risk Understand the difference between modifiable and non-modifiable (static) risk factors- Understand and be experienced in delivery of front-line clinical MH interventions including, but not limited to: Cognitive behavior therapies, motivational interviewing, and safety planning. Be knowledgeable about VA programs and treatment options Be well versed in scopes of practice for disciplines commonly involved in provision of MH care Develops, facilitates, and strengthens Community-Based Interventions for Suicide Prevention at the community, state, and VISN levels. Connects VA programs and stakeholders-including, but not limited to, Veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, congressional staff, media, community business partners, and community members throughout the health care system and VISN catchment areas-to conduct community-based interventions and provide outreach and education on suicide prevention related topics and services Provides leadership for coalition management - leads alignment of community coalition goals with VA goals, collaborates with non-VA coalition leaders (remote or in person), attends coalition meetings (general) and coalition subcommittee meetings, manages and attends coalition sponsored events/public meetings, conducts and/or supports coalition evaluation activities (survey distribution, data collection, key informant interviews, etc.); leads other coalition activities defined in a coalition action plan. Is responsible for establishing and maintaining strong relationships between the VA suicide prevention team and community-based veteran organizations and leadership Comprehends and maintains knowledge of current VA guidelines, policies, Federal regulations, and laws governing benefits for Veterans. Disseminates program evaluation and surveillance data related to suicide prevention with community partners Develops materials and training programs, in coordination with the SP team members, other facility and VISN stakeholders, and the National OMHSP office/MIRECC for staff and external stakeholders regarding suicide prevention in VHA and the facility. Develops and delivers of education and outreach services that encompasses underserved Veteran populations and expands SP coalition building in communities in the Facility's geographical catchment area and may include regional or state events. Develops and maintains content expertise in SP through peer review, networking, internet access, published literature, national conference calls, and educational offerings and professional meetings. Best Practices and Quality Improvement: The Senior (LPMHC)/CEPC is responsible for helping to diffuse best practices within the facility, and beyond the facility and into the community. These will be communicated to the CEPC by the AIT Division Director, who will work at the VISN level to ensure all CEPCs and VISN/Facility leadership are well informed and can support the work of the CEPC. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: 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

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. The basic requirements for employment as a LPMHC are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. §7402(b)(11). To qualify for appointment as a LPMHC all applicants must: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). 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). 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. Loss of Licensure. Once licensed, LPMHCs must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted license to independently practice mental health counseling, which includes diagnosis and treatment. Loss of licensure will result in removal from the GS0101 LPMHC occupation and may result in termination of employment Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12 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. 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 inter professional 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. 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: 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. 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 Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on data. 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. Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications. 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. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/106 PART II APPENDIX G43 This position will be filled at the GS12 (above full performance level). Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Contacts

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