Supervisory Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Bhip)

Summary
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.
This job is open to

• Internal to an agency
  Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency
This announcement is open to (Current & Permanent) Employees of the Texas Valley Coastal Bend VA Health Care System Only. This position is also posted as a Psychology Program Manager, Social Worker (Program Coordinator) and a Supervisory Marriage and Family Therapist. Please see the additional information section of this announcement for details.
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Duties
The Supervisory Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services which requires advanced and expert 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 psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans with a range of DSM diagnoses, substance abuse/dependence, and poly-traumatic injuries.
The Supervisory Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor:

• serves as the primary clinician to meet the same day access needs of Veterans requesting Mental Health care. This includes conducting the same day evaluation through telehealth modalities or by telephone, according to policy. Given that a significant portion of these Veterans are new to Mental Health treatment, this involves providing a diagnosis and provisional treatment plan.
• provides initial and follow-up comprehensive psychological intake evaluations, including diagnosis, to Veterans in BHIP.
• coordinates Mental Health treatment for Veterans within BHIP, being referred to specialty Mental Health care, and Veterans returning to BHIP from specialty Mental Health care.
• conducts risk evaluation and treatment, including oversight of interdisciplinary documentation of treatment plans, for Veterans within BHIP, including those who are in the REACHVet program and those with a High Risk for Suicide Patient Record Flag.
• actively monitors clinic availability and panel size of all BHIP team members in order to be able to coordinate the flow of patient care amongst BHIP teams and BHIP team members. This includes knowledge of availability of specialty Mental Health services, as well as working actively with program support staff to ensure that team assignments in the Patient Care Management Module (PCMM) are accurate and up to date.
• is responsible for completing the second-level social work assessment of Digital Divide Consults submitted by BHIP or other Mental Health providers.
• may serve as the representative for Psychology Service on various Psychology Service, Mental Health Service Line, System, or VISN administrative committees or work groups as assigned.
• provides subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty area, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective practice skills. In addition, there may be opportunities to teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice.
• expands 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. Ability to assist in drafting policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the specialty population or specialty treatment program as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM
Telework: Ad/Hoc Telework may be authorized.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator at visn17edrp2@va.gov for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications
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.).
• 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-0101 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. *Must be able to provide clinical supervision.
• Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA in as LPMHC on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
• 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.
• 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).

Preferred Experience:

• Experience organizing work, setting priorities, delegating tasks, and meeting multiple deadlines.
• Experience utilizing evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines.
• Experience supervising others in the use of evidence-based practice guidelines.
• Experience working effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view.
• Experience in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.
• Experience in translating management goals and objectives into well coordinated and controlled work operations.
• Experience establishing and monitoring production and performance priorities and standards.
• Experience in analyzing organizational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
Supervisory Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Manager), GS-12
Experience, Education, and Licensure. 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. To be equivalent to the GS-11 level, experience must be gained while having a full, unrestricted license to practice Mental Health counseling in a U.S. State. *Must be able to provide clinical supervision.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following GS-12 KSAs below
GS-12 KSA's

• Ability to administratively supervise other providers and conduct meetings.
• Ability to maintain a professional environment by following organizational policies, guidelines and safety standards.

• Ability to establish and clearly communicate guidelines and performance expectations for staff.

Must also meet GS-11 KSA's

• 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.

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/106, PART II, APPENDIX G43, APPENDIX G43. LICENSED PROFESSIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR QUALIFICATION STANDARD, GS-0183, Dated 4/3/2018
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.
Physical Requirements: There are no set physical requirements for this position. Use of eyes, hands, walking/standing and hearing may be needed to perform some functions. Mental, emotional, and cognitive stability are required.
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Accreditation Information: The master's or doctoral degree must be fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Verification of accreditation may be made 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.
NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.
NOTE: If your school was accredited by Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the CACREP website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.
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.
Additional information
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of pr...