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: LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j
• 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 http://www.cacrep.org/directory/
• 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
• 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
• 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 Coordinator), GS-12: 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: In depth knowledge of the program coordinated, and demonstrated knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and or practice guidelines for the program
• Ability to make key decisions in the hiring and identification of top candidates
• Ability to provide leadership in facilitating the process of coordinating program consults, assessments, admissions, care assignments and discharges
• Ability to provide subject matter consultation to other colleagues and trainees within the field of counseling working on an interdisciplinary team
• 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
• The 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• 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.