Marriage and Family Therapist

Qualifications 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 Candidates must meet one of the following: (1) Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE, (2) Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution, OR, (3) Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in a comparable mental health degree (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, and Psychiatry) that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession Licensure Persons hired or reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0182 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted MFT license to independently practice marriage and family therapy in a State English Language Proficiency MFTs must be proficient in spoken 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) Creditable Experience (1) Knowledge of current professional marriage and family therapy practices To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current professional marriage and family therapy practice The experience must be post-master's degree or above The experience should include working with couples, families, individuals and/or groups utilizing family systems theory/therapy The experience also includes the ability to diagnose and treat mental health disorders Experience satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a MFT, as defined by the appropriate State licensing board (2) Quality of Experience Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's or higher degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable degree in mental health (Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor and Psychiatry) and includes work as an MFT directly related to the position to be filled Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to marriage and family therapy experience at the next lower grade level (3) Part-Time Experience Part-time experience as an MFT is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek For example, an MFT employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service (4) Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, e.g., group or family practice Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis (5) Practicum in a VA or other clinical setting A practicum experience may not be substituted for experience, as the practicum (field placement) is completed prior to graduation with a master's degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable mental health degree Grade Determinations: Marriage and Family Therapist, GS-11 (Full Performance Level) (a) Experience, Education and Licensure In addition to the basic requirements, the GS-11 full performance level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-master's degree experience in the field of marriage and family therapy work (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure in a State at the independent practice level In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (b) below OR, In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable degree in mental health that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, and Psychiatry) may be substituted for the required one year of marriage and family therapy experience in a clinical setting AND the candidate must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level and they must demonstrate the following KSA (b) Demonstrated KSAs The candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 1 Skill to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members 2 Ability to provide counseling and, or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, couples and families that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing the client system 3 Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Veterans and their families, colleagues, and other professionals in collaboration throughout treatment regarding clinical, ethical and legal issues and concerns 4 Knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, regulations and VA policies affecting the practice of marriage and family therapy This includes the ability to assist Veterans and their families in making informed decisions relevant to treatment to include limits of confidentiality 5 Ability to provide orientation, training and consultation to new MFTs including clinical oversight of MFT graduate students, and/or provide clinical supervision to pre-licensure MFTs 6 Skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and tracking quality improvements All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package Assignments MFTs at the full performance level are licensed to independently practice marriage and family therapy MFTs can provide general mental health services to Veterans within the ethics and guidelines of the professional standards MFTs at this level formulate, implement, and re- evaluate treatment plans through continuous assessment identifying the Veteran's challenges, strengths, readiness to change, external influences and current events surrounding the origins and maintenance of the presenting issue, and interactional patterns within the client system In the event that Advanced or Supervisory level assignments are not established/supportable, the incumbents at this level can be responsible for clinical supervision for licensing purposes only, provided they have an AAMFT approved supervisor credential 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 GS-11 Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. ]]]]>