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. Program 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

This position is located within the Mental Health Special Services Division in Primary Care- Mental Health Integration at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The duties and responsibilities are carried out at in various Primary Care locations and may have a virtual component to care. The Senior LPMHC is assigned in settings where they have limited access to supervision such as CBOC and also may work as the sole mental health provider in Primary Care, providing occasional weekend hours and later day appointments to accommodate Veteran care needs. He/she has responsibility for expanding clinical programming and supporting a stepped care model approach. The Senior LPMHC is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns to support improved and coordinated care. The Senior LPMHC functions as a mental health provider of the PACT team, providing mental health assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation services. These Veterans are frequently also diagnosed with co-occurring mental health, physical health, and social problems that require a particular skill set in early intervention and crisis management. Mental health treatment and prevention-oriented services emphasize evidence-based and best practice approaches to support patients' management of psychological factors associated with behavioral medicine problems and to promote Whole Health care. The PCMHI LPMHC will have achieved specialized training in PCMHI and maintain certification and competency standards. Behavioral health visits follow the approved model of care and are brief, limited in number and are provided in the primary care practice area. Duties and responsibilities included but not limited to: Assists the PCMHI Program Manager in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. Supports training to PC teams to support clinical care needs and meeting national directives. Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients. Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). Actively participates in leadership roles on local, state and national professional organizations. Represents the medical center at professional/program community group/events and committees. As directed by supervisor, may represent the Medical Center or Healthcare System at professional/program community group/events and committees. Provides screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depressive and anxiety-related disorders, substance use disorders, as well as other mental health conditions via warm handoff, with an emphasis on the application of PCMHI time-limited, evidence-based, Whole Health approaches. Provides direct clinical services within PCMHI and other Clinical Duties as Assigned. Provides a full range of empirically supported treatment services. Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others. Functional assessments. Provides consultation to professional staff and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients. Maintains and employs current knowledge of published research findings that are relevant to PCMHI. Screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depressive and anxiety-related disorders, substance use disorders, as well as other mental health conditions via warm handoff, with an emphasis on the application of PCMHI time-limited, evidence-based, Whole Health approaches. Provides same day access to care. Evaluates and addresses urgent high risk Veterans and determines appropriate level of care. Provides consultation to interdisciplinary team in the management of psychiatric emergencies including those at risk of harm to self/others Allows for flexibility to provide services after hours and on weekends. Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with Veterans and their loved ones through engagement, rapport building, instilling hope, and offering support. Utilizes advanced clinical training, insight, and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options. Implementation and maintenance of the Behavioral Health Lab Provides explanation of different treatment options/levels of care available and why one treatment option/level of care may be more beneficial to the Veteran and their loved ones than another. Work Schedule: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Available, upon supervisors discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required EDRP Authorized: Yes

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 G43T Preferred Experience Experience in PC-MHI or integrated health settings The full performance level of this vacancy is GS11. 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.

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