Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor -Program Manager (BHIP)

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 English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) Education Requirement : You must have 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: Candidates 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 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- 0101 LPMHC occupation and may result in termination of employment 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) 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: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Manager) GS-13 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-12 grade level The experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency Assignments LPMHCs manage the daily operations of multiple programs, develop and implement program policies and procedures, or serve as chief or principal counselor to a number of LPHMCs They are responsible for oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and monitoring of outcomes They prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national leadership Decisions may affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed and are made while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment They may be responsible for the program's budget They may also supervise employees assigned to the program Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-13 you must possess 1 year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade which demonstrates the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency Ability to make judgments and decisions associated with program management Ability to monitor program outcomes using data driven quality assurance process Ability to develop productivity standards appropriate to each service provided Ability to manage a wide range of programs which include the operation and management of key clinical, training or administrative programs Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13 Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ]]>