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 - Must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment
• 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: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade
• The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade
• GS-13 LPMHC (Program Manager) Requirements: 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
• To be equivalent to GS-12, experience must also have been earned while being fully licensed as a Mental Health Counselor by a U.S. State or Territory
• 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
• 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
• Preferred Experience: Experience organizing work, setting priorities, delegating tasks, and meeting multiple deadlines
• Experience utilizing evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines, particularly in PCMHI setting
• Experience supervising others in the use of evidence-based practice guidelines
• Experience working effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view
• Experience in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives
• Experience in translating management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations
• Experience establishing and monitoring production and performance priorities and standards
• Experience in analyzing organizational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13
• 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