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

DUTIES: The HUD-VASH Senior LPMHC has expertise in making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnosis within their scope of practice and works with Veterans to develop measurable treatment plans to address diagnosis and identified problems. The Senior Counselor assigned to the homeless program provides community based intensive case management services. The Senior Counselor provides evidence-based practice treatment to Veterans that is consistent with Housing First and effectively uses motivational interviewing techniques to help Veteran move forward on identified goals. Specialized interventions will include individual, group, and family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced practice case management that addresses complex problems associated with homelessness. The HUD-VASH Senior LPMHC works with HUD-VASH Leadership to assist with interventions and strategies to increase housing retention, in addition to, working directly with the multidisciplinary Enhanced Team to help identify Veterans at risk of eviction and instability and will design interventions to improve outcomes. The HUD-VASH Senior LPMHC is expert at Homeless Operation Management Evaluation Systems (HOMES) system and makes improvements and adjustments as needed to ensure medical center performance meets or exceeds expectations. The Senior Counselor assists the HUD-VASH team with clinical case staffing to help determine interventions and community resources for supporting housing retention. The Senior Counselor provides input into needed system changes and may help write policy, procedures or practice guidelines for the treatment of homelessness and make recommendations to leadership. The HUD-VASH Senior LPMHC is able to provide clinical supervision to LPMHC staff and to MSW student trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated for homelessness providing expertise and role modeling. Incumbent has a minimum of 5 years post licensed experience that demonstrates possession of advanced skills practice and judgment, demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise. Incumbent is a subject matter expert for the discipline and is expected to mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice. Incumbent must also be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs. Incumbent takes responsibility to expand clinical knowledge in the profession, demonstrating innovation in the creation of new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address specialized clinical needs that may include initial engagement around substance abuse treatment. The HUD-VASH Senior LPMHC is assigned to Homeless Program Specialty area and uses evidence-based practice techniques to engage Veterans in setting individualized treatment planning goals and will monitor progress over time. The Senior Counselor will be assigned as a Mental Health Treatment Coordinator for assigned caseload and will provide expert case management services that help Veterans maximize health and function. The incumbent is an expert on VA and community resources associated with homelessness, mental health treatment, and substance use disorder treatment. Incumbent is available to the Veterans in area served and assists Veterans in linking to supportive environments in the areas in which they live. The incumbent independently follows medical center policy and procedures and provides clinical care that is consistent with Joint Commission and CARF expectations. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00-4:30pm Telework: AD Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not 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

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: a. 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.). b. 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. c. 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. NOTE: It is VHA policy that a LPMHC who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. 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.j. 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 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. (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: Case Management and MH Experience working in community based settings. Experience working with People who struggle with substance use disorders. Experience working with people with complex medical and mental health problems. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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 VA Portland Health Care System 3710 Southwest US Veterans Hospital Road Portland, OR 97239 US
• Name: Eugenia Washington-Knight
• Phone: (931) 674-1430
• Email: [email protected]