Senior Social Worker (Inpatient Psychiatry)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off (37–50 days)

Parental leave (12 weeks)

Federal pension & 401K

Job summary

VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle seeks a Senior Social Worker for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (7West) within the Mental Health Service. This role provides advanced clinical social work, case management, and psychosocial interventions for veterans with complex needs.

You will conduct assessments, coordinate discharge plans, and collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to ensure patient-centered care and evidence-based practices in a high-acuity setting.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program.
• Current state licensure as a social worker at the advanced practice level.
• Proficiency in English (spoken and written).

Responsibilities

• Conduct psychosocial assessments and provide case management.
• Lead individual, family, and group therapy within the unit.
• Coordinate discharge planning and care across services.
• Provide consultation and, when needed, testimony related to the VA Involuntary Treatment Act.

Skills

Advanced clinical practice

Psychosocial assessment

Case management

Discharge planning

Individual therapy

Group therapy

Court testimony

Supervision

Education

Master's degree in social work (CSWE accredited)

Licensed Social Worker (state)

Tools

Electronic Health Records

Job description

Summary

This position is a Senior Social Worker for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (7West) within the Acute Care Section of the Mental Health Service line at VA Puget Sound Health Care System located in Seattle - Washington. VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) is a Complexity Level 1a Facility and provides extensive primary - secondary - tertiary - and quaternary care in outpatient - inpatient - residential - and community settings.

Summary

This position is a Senior Social Worker for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (7West) within the Acute Care Section of the Mental Health Service line at VA Puget Sound Health Care System located in Seattle - Washington. VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) is a Complexity Level 1a Facility and provides extensive primary - secondary - tertiary - and quaternary care in outpatient - inpatient - residential - and community settings.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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
• Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
• Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work
• Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the 4 accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure
• Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C.
• 7403(f)
• 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: Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience/Education
• The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which - one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment
• Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice
• Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty
• Licensure/Certification
• Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination - unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California - which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations
• This includes individual - group - and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area - as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession - and to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area
• Preferred Experience: Strong background working with adults with severe and persistent mental illness in an acute inpatient psychiatric - psychiatric emergency - or similarly high-acuity behavioral health setting
• Experience providing comprehensive psychosocial assessment - clinical case management - complex discharge planning - individual and group interventions - and coordination of care for patients with significant psychiatric - substance use - medical - housing - and psychosocial needs
• Experience with involuntary psychiatric treatment - including familiarity with Washington State Involuntary Treatment Act requirements - collaboration with Designated Crisis Responders and the court system - and - ideally - experience providing clinical testimony or serving in a court evaluator role
• Experience functioning independently within a multidisciplinary treatment team - supervising or teaching social work trainees and staff - and contributing to program development - quality improvement - and evidence-based clinical programming
• 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-12
• Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019 - updated on 4/17/2026.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional 7West is the only VA site for inpatient psychiatric care in Western Washington and consists of 16 high-intensity psychiatric beds serving both voluntary and involuntary patients
• additionally - 7West provides scheduled admissions for detoxification service and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
• The Incumbent is responsible for the clinical case management for Social Work needs on the unit
• This includes ensuring conducting psychosocial assessments and facilitating group programming on a daily basis
• The incumbent also works with Veterans hospitalized under the Involuntary Treatment Act - to include coordinating with County Crisis and Commitment Services and providing court testimony as the VA Court Evaluator
• Provide a full range of services within the Social Work Scope of Practice based on Veteran needs - acuity level - and preferences for care
• Services may include - but are not limited to - the following: case management
• individual - family - and group therapy
• discharge planning
• resource linkage
• and care coordination
• Provide consultation and psychoeducation to Veterans and Veteran families on topics including community resources - Advance Directives - VA benefits - budgeting - activities of daily living - and recovery goals
• Act as a consultant to other team/staff members and take a lead clinical role in case consultation
• Document all Veteran care in the electronic health record in accordance with facility policy - VHA Directive 1160.06 (and revisions) - and program-specific SOPs
• Participate in program planning and development - advising the supervisor of shifting Veteran care needs and identifying the need for SOP or policy changes
• Provide supervision to students - interns - or unlicensed Social Workers as requested
• Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8am - 4:30pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: No Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized