Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Chesapeake (VA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor at Hampton VA Medical Center to support BHIP/outpatient mental health services. You will perform psychosocial assessments, develop treatment plans, and provide psychotherapy to Veterans and families.

Work closely with the MHBS service line and inter-disciplinary teams, ensuring coordinated care. LPMHC licensure and CACREP education are required; on-site with ad-hoc telework options.

Qualifications

• Master's or doctoral degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from a CACREP-accredited program.
• Full current and unrestricted license to independently practice as an LPMHC.
• At least one year of post-master's or post-doctoral experience in mental health counseling.
• Ability to provide crisis intervention and evidence-based treatment planning.

Responsibilities

• Independently conducts psychosocial assessments.
• Develops treatment plans in collaboration with Veteran/family and interdisciplinary team.
• Provides counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups.
• Coordinates with Primary Care, PCMHI, MH teams to meet Veterans needs.
• Identifies high-risk patients and provides crisis intervention.
• Serves as Mental Health Treatment Coordinator for the assigned team.

Skills

Professional evaluation

Crisis intervention

Treatment planning

Case coordination

Multicultural counseling

DSM/clinical knowledge

Education

Master's or Doctoral in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CACREP)

CACREP-accredited program

Licensed to practice independently (LPC/LPMHC)

Job description

Summary

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) - Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (HVAMC) located at the North Battlefield CBOC - under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences (MH&BS) Service Line. This position is aligned with the BHIP/Outpatient Mental Health.

Summary

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) - Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (HVAMC) located at the North Battlefield CBOC - under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences (MH&BS) Service Line. This position is aligned with the BHIP/Outpatient Mental Health.

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)
• 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-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
• Failure to Obtain License
• In all cases - LPMHCs must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment
• Failure to become licensed within three years from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0183 LPMHC series and may result in termination of employment
• 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 GS-0183 LPMHC occupation and may result in termination of employment
• Grade Determinations: GS-11 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Full Performance Level) 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 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
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-09 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
• 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: The work is primarily sedentary.

Duties

• Major duties include - but not limited to the following: Independently performs case/care management functions and outreach - identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs
• Possesses the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities - provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals - families - and groups
• Independently conducts psychosocial assessments
• Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team if applicable
• Possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions
• Coordinates community-based services - including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs - other government programs and community agency programs
• Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides crisis intervention services - seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint - coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members
• Provides support for those Veterans on the High Risk for Suicide list
• Develops patient education materials/modules and assists with Veteran Peer and Family activities as assigned
• Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan
• Ability to evaluate own practice through professional peer review - case conferences and other organizational means
• Able to communicate effectively - both orally and in writing - with people from varied backgrounds
• Serves as Mental Health Treatment Coordinator for the patients on assigned team
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• Independently coordinates with other services to include - but not limited to Primary Care - Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) - MH Connect Team - Inpatient Psychiatry Team - and/or Substance Use Disorder Outpatient Program to ensure Veterans needs are met
• Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized