Supervisory Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

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. 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.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: 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

Grade Determinations:GS-12 Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills, judgment, and competency.
Licensure: Candidates must possess the ability to provide clinical supervision. 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. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

1. Ability to administratively supervise other providers and conduct meetings.
2. Ability to maintain a professional environment by following organizational policies, guidelines and safety standards.
3. Ability to establish and clearly communicate guidelines and performance expectations for staff.

Preferred Experience: 1. Knowledge and understanding of the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
2. Knowledge of methods, principles and theories sufficient to intervene and stabilize combat Veterans suffering from multiple diagnoses.
3. Ability to conduct psycho-social assessments and implement treatment plans for combat Veterans and their families.
4. Ability to establish and maintain referral networks through community outreach to provide services to Veterans
5. Experience in working with veterans, especially combat veterans.
6. Experience in working with veterans who were sexually traumatized/harassed while in the military
7. Experience in providing family counseling services to veterans and their family.
8. Experience working with combat veterans and their families who have PTSD or readjustment issues and the ability to make independent judgments and recommendations about a number of serious and complex cases.
9. Special knowledge and skill in the field of veterans in community resource identification and development, in public speaking and basic principles of education, in staff recruitment and development, and in program design and management.
10. Knowledge of VA and community resources available to veterans and their family.
11. Develops and manages a clinic's budget and program funds
12. Working knowledge of electronic records.
13. Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates and sets guidelines for clinical, therapeutic and treatment priorities.
14. Incumbent must have possession of supervisory and management skills.
References: VA Handbook 5005-106, Part II, Appendix G43, dated April 3, 2018.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.
Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting 15-44 lbs, walking and standing up to 4 hours, kneeling 1-2 hours, Operation of motor vehicle, both eyes required, depth perception, ability to distinguish colors, hearing (aid permitted), glasses and prosthesis allowed, able to hear whispered voices, and emotional and mental stability; Environmental factors: outside and inside, electrical energy, working closely with others, protracted or irregular hours of work, and repetitive computer use.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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.Employment Type: FULL_TIME