Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

US Department of Veterans Affairs; Yukon (OK); On-site; USD 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs in Yukon, OK seeks a Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor. This GS-12 level role requires advanced clinical skills, licensure to practice, and the ability to coordinate psychosocial services for veterans. Training may include supervision of trainees and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams.

Qualifications include CACREP-accredited education and U.S. citizenship, with proficiency in English.

Qualifications

• Citizenship in the United States is required.
• English language proficiency in spoken and written form is required.
• Education must be CACREP-accredited as specified.
• Full, current, unrestricted licensure as an LPMHC enabling independent practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for veterans.
• Coordinate delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs.
• Mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or certifications.
• Engage with leadership and community stakeholders regarding policies and practice guidelines.

Skills

Licensure to practice—LPMHC

Advanced counseling skills

Psychotherapy experience

Case management capability

Communication with leadership

Education

Master's or doctoral degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling or CACREP-accredited program

Job description

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, Mental Health, is currently recruiting for one (1) Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor in Yukon, OK. This is a multi-disciplinary position and selections can be made from the following, Staff Psychologist, Senior Social Worker, and Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor.

Basic Requirements

• 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.).
• 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. 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/.
• 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.

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

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

• 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://department.va.gov/employees/va-qualifications-standards/

This vacancy is being announced above the full performance level at a GS-12.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019