Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

Summary

The Suicide Prevention Coordinator facilitates implementation of suicide prevention strategies at the local level through education, monitoring, & coordination of treatment. They coordinate the care for veterans who are at an elevated risk of suicide. They function as an advisor to the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health, other facility leadership, staff concerning suicide prevention strategies at the individual patient level & for the facility, and the veteran community as a whole.

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Duties

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The Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) facilitates implementation of suicide prevention strategies at the local level through education, monitoring, & coordination of treatment. They coordinate the care for veterans who are at an elevated risk of suicide. They function as an advisor to the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health, other facility leadership, staff concerning suicide prevention strategies at the individual patient level & for the facility, and the veteran community as a whole.

The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator) is assigned to the Mental Health Service Line of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System and reports directly to the Section Chief, Suicide Prevention Programs.

The position is located at Balcones Height VA Clinic.

• Maintains a list of patients determined to be currently high-risk for suicide and monitors their care to assure needed services are being received.
• As appropriate, consults/collaborates with providers regarding their delivery of care to high-risk veterans. Provides education and facilitates best practice. Will provide direct patient care for same purpose. Provides training to clinical and non-clinical staff throughout STVHCS community regarding risk factors, warning signs, treatment options, and resources. Promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and strategies for suicide prevention.
• Responds timely to referrals from the Veteran Crisis Line to include making contact with veterans callers to engage them in treatment; reports back to the Crisis Line about the results of interventions. Collaborates with providers to support completion of SBORs, Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations, and consults for consideration of activation of high-risk flag as appropriate.
• Incumbent completes SBORs, Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations, and consults for consideration of activation of high-risk flag as appropriate.
• Ensures implementation of Category 1 Flags per Central office Directives.
• Acts as liaison and trainer to community organizations and veterans organizations.
• Assuring that all veterans on the facility tracking list are being followed closely by the appropriate provider on a regular basis as determined by the Tracking any no-show appointments by these patients and following up with the patient as soon as possible to reschedule the appointment.
• Maintaining awareness of suicide treatment options and making recommendations to the patient's provider when new options become available.
• Obtaining any relevant HIPM clearances to allow transmittal of facility data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk to other offices for research, analysis, and quality assurance purposes; and transmitting the data following cyber security requirements as applicable for this sensitive data.
• Provides suicide prevention training to Veterans, staff and community members.
• Compiles data, completes required Local, VISN and National reports, develops plans to facilitate meeting required performance measures (SAIL, Director's Performance etc.).
• Works across service-lines to facilitate compliance with VHA directives and initiatives related to Suicide Prevention. coordinator and provider.

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday; 0800AM-430PM

Telework : ADHOC only, as determined by Agency policy.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 54104-f

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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

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. 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
  • 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.
• Loss of Licensure. Once licensed, LPMHCs must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted license to independently practice mental health counseling, which includes diagnosis and treatment. Loss of licensure will result in removal from the GS-0183 LPMHC occupation and may result in termination of employment.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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 have been in a major specialty treatment program area such as, but not limited to, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), or other areas of equivalent scope and complexity. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:1. In depth knowledge of the program coordinated, and demonstrated knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and or practice guidelines for the program.2. Ability to make key decisions in the hiring and identification of top candidates.3. Ability to provide leadership in facilitating the process of coordinating program consults, assessments, admissions, care assignments and discharges.4. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to other colleagues and trainees within the field of counseling working on an interdisciplinary team.

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:

• Minimum of 3 year's experience working with a complex and wide range of
• psychosocial issues related to the practice of mental health care
• Senior LPMHC's model professional behaviors and uphold high ethical
• standards.
• Experience conducting meetings and possess strong communication skills in
• writing and orally.
• Possesses organizational skills, in-depth knowledge of VA policies and
• Advanced consultation experience on patient care.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit 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: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination.

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:

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

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 the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the CACREP website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

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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