Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

About the role

This Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor/BHIP-SOS position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Fredericksburg Health Care Center (FxHCC) located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, VISN 6. This position is aligned with the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Outpatient Services.

Duties

• Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs.
• Possesses the 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.
• Captures information and refers patients to other VA programs, other government programs, and community agency programs.
• 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 those Veterans on the High Risk for Suicide list.
• Has working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.
• 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.
• Able 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.
• Performs other related duties as assigned, including but not limited to assisting the SOS clinic.

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.

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).

Experience

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 and demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (c) below.

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.