Full Time LMFT - Remote position

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. Help
NOTE: Readjustment Counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker, Psychologist, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, and Marriage & Family Therapist. The incumbent serves as an RCS Vet Center Readjustment Counselor, providing counseling services, outreach, referral, and follow up care coordination to eligible individuals, couples, and family members. This entails the incumbent contributing proactively to internal coordination of care and collaborative planning and problem solving among all staff.Screening and Assessment: Will work directly with eligible individuals to establish a therapeutic relationship sufficient for completing all required readjustment counseling intake procedures to include an assessment of risk for self-harm and psychosocial functioning. This information will be used as the foundation for identifying the presenting clinical focus areas and for developing the readjustment counseling service plan.
Counseling Planning/Goal Setting: Direct Counseling Service Provision: Will implement the individualized counseling plan through an appropriate course of individual, group, couple and/or family readjustment counseling. Risk Assessment and Crisis Intervention: Will apply risk assessment procedures during the initial assessment and periodically throughout the planned course of readjustment counseling as required and appropriate. For individuals identified from intermediate to high risk, the incumbent will work with the individual to develop a safety plan that identifies the precipitating life stressors and safety procedures identified by the client. Will establish and maintain a network of community care relationships, internal and external to VA, to coordinate access to readjustment counseling through community referrals to the Vet Center, and to ensure that eligible individuals and/or family members receive the full spectrum of services to support the veteran's readjustment that are outside the scope of readjustment counseling. In support of client care coordination, the incumbent maintains a general knowledge and understanding of the military experience and available VA benefits and services such as VA health care and VBA service-connected benefits.
Outreach: Will maintain active coordination with Vet Center outreach workers to ensure seamless referral to Vet Center services for those individuals and family members engaged in the community at outreach events that may require follow-up readjustment counseling.
Will actively participate in Vet Center staff meetings designed to promote team building and staff development through co-joint planning and problem solving, staff discussion of problematic cases, coaching and mentoring new hires.
Will document all clinical interactions with eligible individuals and episodes of care coordination on their behalf as required by RCS policy. Will provide consultation services to other staff inclusive of other community partners.
Work Schedule : Monday-Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm, Some evenings and weekends required based on the needs of the Vet Center.
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Telework : Ad Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
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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.
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).
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. your performance and conduct;
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.
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: 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
Marriage and Family Therapy from a program approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), OR
Marriage and Family Therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution, OR
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: Must hold full, current, and unrestricted Marriage and Family Therapy license to independently practice marriage and family therapy in a state or pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure.

Exception GS-9 Only: VA may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 3 years for a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) that provides care under the clinical supervision of a licensed MFT who is at or above the full performance level. Grandfather Provision: An MFT employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (4/18/2018) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-11) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting all qualification requirements.
GS-09 Marriage and Family Therapist (Entry Level):
Knowledge of human development throughout the lifespan, interventions based on research and family systems theory and therapy, formal diagnostic criteria, risk assessment, evidence-based practice and assessment tools.
Ability to assess, with supervision, the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members.
Knowledge to formulate, implement, and re-evaluate a treatment plan 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.
Ability to provide counseling and, or psychotherapy services, under supervision, to individuals, groups, couples and families in a manner that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing of the client system.
Basic knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of marriage and family therapy.
Ability to draft documents, manage data, maintain accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and track quality improvements.
GS-11 Marriage and Family Therapist (Full Performance Level):

• 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 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 licensure in a State at the independent practice level.
• Skill to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members.

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.
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.
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.
Skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and tracking quality improvements.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit full performance level of the GS-0182 Marriage and Family Therapist job series is GS-11. Physical Requirements: The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation.
A transcript must be submitted with your application.
Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. 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. 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.
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.
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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.