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
• English Language Proficiency
• In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English
• Education: Master's or doctoral degree in one of the following: 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 http://www.cacrep.org/directory/
• NOTE: Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling
• Licensure/Certification
• Must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment
• Grandfather Provision: An LPMHC employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (4/3/2018) 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 the full qualification requirements
• Grade Determinations: Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12 In addition to meeting the basic requirements, you must possess: A minimum of 5 years of post-licensed experience (with at least 1 year equivalent to the GS-11 grade level) that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise and be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs, AND
• Experience that Demonstrates the following GS-11 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 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 family counseling interventions
• 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
• GS-12 Senior LPMHC Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to meeting the GS-11 level experience and KSAs above, you must possess the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex mental illness
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• Ability to determine priority of services needed and provide specialized treatment
• Advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities for Veterans with complex needs
• This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling, or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial, and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans
• Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs
• Ability to design system changes based on data
• Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients, rendering professional opinions based on experience, expertise and role modeling effective clinical skills
• Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications
• Ability to engage in written and oral communication with leadership/staff and community stakeholders regarding policies, procedures, practice guidelines, and issues pertaining to the practice of the profession
• Preferred experience: Advanced practice skill in LPMHC Practice
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is 12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS 12
• PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Incumbent must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies
• Position requires walking throughout the clinic and/or Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans, caregivers, and interdisciplinary teams
• This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures
• transcribing
• viewing a computer monitor/keyboard
• extensive reading
• and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, Majority of work is completed in an office setting
• The work of this position is primarily sedentary with occasional walking of short distances
• No heavy lifting required
• The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situation, able to shift priorities based on patient needs
• Must complete a physical as a part of the pre-employment process.