Job opening: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Homeless & Justice Services)
Salary: $80 429 - 104 554 per year
Published at: Mar 08 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
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
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf
The incumbent is assigned to the Homeless Program at the Evansville, IN Health Care Center (EHCC) and travel to throughout the community and surrounding VA locations providing case management and mental health services to Veterans currently homeless or at risk of homelessness. Additionally, the incumbent assists with the Veteran Justice Outreach (VJO) initiative to assist avoiding the unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and extended incarceration among Veterans by ensuring that eligible justice involved Veterans have timely access to VHA mental health and substance abuse services when clinically indicated, and other VA services and benefits as appropriate. The incumbent will also support and provides assistance to the Housing and Urban Development/ Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD/VASH) program.
Frequent travel is required
Completes thorough psychosocial assessments and includes pertinent information in all the required areas of functioning to determine appropriate diagnoses and other treatment-related conclusions. Clinical assessments are found to be appropriate to the referral question.
Provides a DSM diagnosis to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and/or their families. The incumbent must be able to utilize this assessment in facilitating the Veteran's maximum use of treatment for attainment of the highest level of independence that is possible and practicable.
Provides emergency/crisis interventions that are provided to Veterans to stabilize. Engages in rapid assessments and develops crisis management plans. Interventions are appropriate to the level of need and would involve a range of services including facilitation of transfer of care to the appropriate level based on Veteran need as well as referral to other VA resources or community agencies.
Provides psychotherapy as individual, group &/or family interventions when clinically indicated/appropriate and when of therapeutic benefit to the recipients. Is willing to be successfully trained and implement Evidenced Based Psychotherapies.
Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning, compliance with treatment, and discharge planning. Assessments and interventions provided are reflected in the treatment plan and include Veteran and/or family involvement with goals, interventions and discharge plans that are realistic, achievable, and understandable.
Documents direct Veteran care at a minimum of 80% of the time allotted to direct care in the clinician's weekly profile. This includes individual therapy, groups, family therapy, couples' therapy, and direct clinical phone calls with the Veteran.
Demonstrates commitment and support of the goals of the Service, the Health Care System, the VISN and the Department of Veterans Affairs by actively participating in work groups and/or projects where the mission is to reach organizational goals and objectives.
Provides clinical services to Veterans in a variety of formats including face to face, phone, vtel, and VVC as clinically appropriate and objectives
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact
[email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
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. TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED.
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.
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.
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:GS-11:
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.
Assignments. This is the full performance grade level for LPMHCs. At this level they are licensed to independently practice professional counseling and to provide mental health services within the knowledge, theory, and training foundations of professional counseling.
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:
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
Preferred Experience: Full Independent License
References: VA Handbook 5005/53, Part II, Appendix G43, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR QUALIFICATION STANDARD, dated April 3, 2018. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
Physical Requirements: Refer to VA Handbook 5019 for pre-placement requirements. Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Homeless & Justice Services) must possess a current, valid, and unrestricted driver's license in order to operate a government owned vehicle.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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.
Contacts
- Address Marion VA Medical Center
2401 West Main Street
Marion, IL 62959
US
- Name: Alexis Briggs
- Phone: 816-714-4587
- Email: [email protected]
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