Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

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Duties

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The position is located in the Clinical Behavioral Health line. CBH provides ambulatory care services to mentally ill and/or substance abusing male and female Veterans and their significant others. The patients that receive services can have concurrent psychiatric disorders, personality disorders, substance use, medical conditions, and multiple psychosocial stressors.

Patients are assigned to the Behavioral Health Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor without prior screening by other CBH staff. The Behavioral Health Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor must have the knowledge and skills to make independent decisions regarding the assessment, treatment, and case management of the diagnostically diverse CBH patient population. The LPMHC must form and maintain effective working relationships with staff from the Behavioral Health Clinic, Medical, Nursing, Social Work, Rehabilitation, Chaplain, and Dietetic Services in order to provide patients with an integrated and comprehensive treatment program.

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Assessment: Independently conducts intake screenings and evaluations of Veterans and their significant others. Uses the established biopsychosocial admissions criteria to determine the appropriateness of Veterans referred to the CBH for service in the different treatment components. Performs a comprehensive intake assessment that satisfies Joint Commission standards and provides clinically meaningful information related to the specific cognitive - social learning treatment approach used in the CBH. Provides assistance to the BHIP team with monitoring the status of problematic behaviors; assessing patients' progress toward meeting treatment goals and objectives.
  • The Care manager may respond to Veteran concerns, maybe crisis or noncrisis in nature. Provide a clinical assessment to the Veteran Crisis intervention requires a function with a high degree of independent judgment in responding appropriately and quickly to unique needs/dangers in crisis situations. For Veterans in crisis, follows CBH policies regarding crisis situations.
• Treatment: Assists members of the BHIP and suicide prevention team by providing same-day assistance to Veterans experiencing urgent or non-urgent needs. May also assist the suicide prevention team by providing telephone outreach services to Veterans following non-emergent/urgent calls to the Veterans Crisis Line. When there are same day cancellation of therapy clinics due to provider call-ins, the care manager's services will be offered as a contingency service as mandated by VA policy.
• Care Management: The care management responsibilities is to coordinate treatment activities to ensure that patients are provided with an individualized, integrated, biopsychosocial approach to care. The LPMHC will provide assistance to Veterans within the BHIP team by:
  • Making referrals to community-based programming which may include, intensive case management, acute inpatient, and residential care. Coordinates with inpatient/residential providers to assist in discharge planning. Ensures mandated follow-up services are scheduled and Veteran attends appointments.
  • Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served on his or her caseload.
  • As clinically indicated, provides input into the development of comprehensive, individualized treatment plan specific to the BHC treatment model.
  • Assess patients to determine the status of current clinical problems, current needs, and responses to treatment. Communicate findings with relevant BHC staff and initiates action to modify treatment, when indicated.
  • Handle requests of an administrative nature and act as patients' primary contact person, recommend actions concerning necessary controls and restrictions to enhance therapeutic effectiveness for individuals, groups, and the patient community; give patients feedback as to their status and progress in the treatment program; and give guidance and advice to patients regarding benefits and services provided within the Department of Veterans Affairs and local community.
• Program and Staff Development: Supportive role in the administrative/clinical functions such as quality assurance, policy and procedure development, program planning, and preparation of reports. Participates in CBH committees; provides training to Medical Center and CBH staff through patient review conferences, CBH in-service programs, and medical education presentations. Responsible for recommending methods to improve the quality, quantity, and integration of treatment services.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Requirements

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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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Preferred Experience: Licensure, Completing clinical intakes and making clinical diagnoses.

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.
• 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.
  • Exception. VHA may waive the licensure requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure. This exception only applies up to the full performance level. For grade levels at or above the full performance level, the candidate must be licensed.
  • The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 3 years for a LPMHC that provides care under the clinical supervision of a licensed LPMHC who is at or above the full performance level. This exception only applies at the entry level (GS-9). For grade levels at or above the full performance level, the candidate must be licensed.
• English Language Proficiency : LPMHCs must be proficient in spoke and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

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. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-11 (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.
• Demonstrate Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition, the candidates must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • 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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-11.

Physical Requirements: In Accordance With VA Directive and Handbook 5019

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: 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:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.