Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor
About the role
This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) - Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (HVAMC) at the North Battlefield CBOC, under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences (MH&BS) Service Line, aligned with the BHIP/Outpatient Mental Health program.
Responsibilities
- Independently performs case/care management functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs
- Possesses knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups
- Independently conducts psychosocial assessments
- Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team if applicable
- Possesses skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions
- Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs, and community agency programs
- Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint; coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members
- Provides support for Veterans on the High Risk for Suicide list
- Develops patient education materials/modules and assists with Veteran Peer and Family activities as assigned
- Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan
- Ability to evaluate own practice through professional peer review, case conferences, and other organizational means
- Able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds
- Serves as Mental Health Treatment Coordinator for patients on assigned team
- Independently coordinates with other services including Primary Care, Mental Health Integration (PCMHI), MH Connect Team, Inpatient Psychiatry Team, and/or Substance Use Disorder Outpatient Program to ensure Veterans' needs are met
Requirements
United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
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 (e.g., Addiction Counseling, Community Counseling, Gerontology Counseling, Marital‑Couple‑and‑Family Counseling) from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs accredited by CACREP do not meet the LPMHC qualification standards.
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. If not yet licensed, the individual must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member with access to the electronic health record. LPMHCs must actively pursue state licensure prerequisites from the date of appointment; failure to become licensed within three years results in removal from the GS‑0183 series and may lead to termination. Once licensed, they must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted license; loss of licensure results in removal from the occupation and may lead to termination.
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary.
Grade Determinations (GS‑11): In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of post‑master