Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (BHIP-Outpatient) - Therapist

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) - under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service Line (MHBS) - Chesapeake Virginia. The role is aligned with the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program/Outpatient Mental Health Services.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• Possesses the 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.
• Has working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (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.
• Has working knowledge and skill in the use of word-processing, data management and other computer systems - especially those programs in use by VHA.
• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team - assigned program and/clinic - CBOC Service Line - BHIP - and Mental Health.
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the LPMHC Supervisor - Program Manager - Service Chief - Chief of Staff - and/or Medical Center Director.
• Actively participates in and assumes responsibilities associated with committee assignments to include Performance Improvement - Peer Review - and Performance Measures.
• GS-9 Assignments: Individuals assigned as GS-9 LPMHCs are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised - including co-signatures where required - as they are not functioning at the full performance level; they are typically assigned to VHA areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience; since they are not practicing at an independent level they should not be assigned to areas where independent practice is required - such as in a CBOC - unless there is a licensed LPMHC in the area who can provide supervision for practice; under supervision - LPMHCs at this level provide professional mental health counseling services.
• GS-11 Assignments: This is the full performance grade level for LPMHCs; at this level they are licensed to independently practice professional counseling and to provide mental health services within the knowledge - theory - and training foundations of professional counseling; LPMHCs may be assigned to any VHA area - consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate; LPMHCs may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities.

Requirements

Applicants must be United States citizens (non‑citizens may be appointed only when qualified citizens cannot be recruited per VA policy).

Education: Hold a master's or doctoral degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 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‑0101 series in VHA must