Job opening: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor
Salary: $75 969 - 98 757 per year
Published at: Aug 06 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. 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
The PCMHI CCC LPMHC provides functional assessment, triage, brief intervention, education, and consultative services regarding a wide range of possible concerns. Consistent with the VA Whole Health philosophy, the PCMHI CCC LPMHC promotes awareness of the important mental and behavioral aspects of wellness and overall health outcomes.
Major Duties:
PCMHI CCC Clinical Practice Management:
Collaborates with PCPs and the interdisciplinary PACT to support high quality, effective, and coordinated service delivery at the patient and programmatic levels
Maintains daily open access slots and encourages same day warm handoffs within PACT
Refers Veterans with more severe or complex needs to the appropriate general or specialty mental health program
Supports Stepped-Care principles in mental health to facilitate "on-time, on target" services to Veterans, matching the intensity of services with the level of clinical need
Documentation Skills:
Writes clear, concise notes that are optimized for collaboration within PACT based on the PCMHI CCC functional assessment and follow-up visit guidelines
Notes document important elements for team collaboration (e.g., MBC, curbside consultation/team care discussion, liaison with specialty care providers) as appropriate
Notes are completed same day or within 24 hours
Consultation and Interdisciplinary Team Based Skills:
Engages in PACT huddles and meetings to cultivate collaborative team functioning and serve as a subject matter expert for behavioral health considerations
Integrates self into routine workflow of Primary Care and seeks opportunities to offer expertise or direct patient care services to support team-based care
Accepts and encourages same day warm handoffs
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 0800 - 4:30pm
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 0000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact
[email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
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).
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.
Exception. VHA may waive the licensure requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure.
The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 3 years for a LPMHC that provides care under the clinical supervision of a licensed LPMHC who is at or above the full performance level.
Failure to Obtain License. In all cases, LPMHCs must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment.
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.
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).
Grandfather Provision. All persons employed in VHA in as LPMHC on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level, or demoted within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basicrequirements of the standard.
If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
Grade Determinations:
GS-11 Experience. 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
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-9 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all 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: Mental Health Experience
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.
Physical Requirements: Majority of work is completed in an office setting. The work of this position of primarily sedentary with occasional walking of short distances. No heavy lifting required. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete a physical as a part of the pre-employment process.
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 Beckley VA Medical Center
200 Veterans Avenue
Beckley, WV 25801
US
- Name: Erika Dowell
- Phone: (216) 225-8132
- Email: [email protected]
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