Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

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), and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply.

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: Dental hygienists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d).
• 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

  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

GS-11 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Requirements

In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of post-master's or post-doctoral degree mental health counseling experience (VA or non-VA experience) and must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level. Candidates must demonstrate all the GS-09 and GS-11 KSAs listed below:

GS-09 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to engage in intake and assessment, problem identification, diagnosis, treatment planning and implementation, continuum of care, evaluation, and follow-up.
• Knowledge of current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders in formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical interventions using professional counseling practices.
• Basic knowledge of professional counseling practice with emphasis on human development principles through cognitive, affective, behavioral, or systemic interventions and strategies that address high-risk behaviors, wellness, personal growth, and career development across the life span.
• Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions.
• Ability to serve on an interdisciplinary team with focus on the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and relational functioning of individuals, groups, and families and on the counseling approaches, strategies, and techniques that will best help patients function effectively.
• Basic skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely, and thorough clinical documentation, and delivery of services, such as Telehealth.
• Ability to learn and utilize software programs in use by VHA.
• Knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case laws, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of counseling.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds.

GS-11 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendations 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.

Responsibilities

• Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services.
• Provides/assists with diagnoses of mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients, to include a full range of psycho-diagnostic services.
• Provides education to patients, family members, significant others, and community members.
• Provides consultation to professional staff within the WJB Dorn VAMC or CBOC and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.
• Functions as a member of the Outpatient Mental Health Team.
• The incumbent assumes complete professional responsibility for their clinical findings, patient care decisions, and documentation.

Schedule

Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.