Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program)

Summary

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) & 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 ineligible to apply.

Responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities

• Screening/Assessment: Independently assesses the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans identifying the Veteran's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, psychosocial acuity, Mental Health symptoms according to DSM-5-TR, problem identification, diagnosis, treatment planning, implementation, evaluation, and follow-up.
• Delivers services both in person and via video technology.
• Treatment Planning/Interventions: Has specialized knowledge of a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions. LPMHC will be able to provide advanced therapy and consultation for PTSD, depression, anxiety and other major MH disorders using EBPs.
• Provides complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Ability to assess and safety plan for suicidality.
• Uses Measurement Based Care (MBC) measures to evaluate initial and ongoing treatment needs and episodes of care, utilizing the continuum of care model.
• Demonstrates advanced 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.
• Conducts case management services for Veterans enrolled BHIP Psychology Services, to include but not limited to: coordination of care with other clinics/programs/facilities, provision of resources/education, completing clinical reminders, administering measurement based care, and managing emergent Veteran needs within the clinic.

Academic/Teaching/Training

• May provide clinical supervision of non-licensed and licensed MHCs to assist with clinical skill development, and may serve as the subject matter expert for the discipline.
• Provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned Mental Health Counselor staff.

Administrative Responsibilities

• Provides recommendations to supervisors of any clinical changes to policy and procedure and ability to design system changes based on data.
• Communicates assignments with milestones, priorities, expected outcomes, deadlines, and timeframes for completing assignments.
• Addresses program issues under review and problems to be resolved by providing advice on work methods, practices and procedures.
• Assists BHIP Program Manager with quality management, improvement, and compliance with accreditation organizations and VA standards, CARF, JACHO, SAMSHA data.
• Assists with management of referrals from BHIP Psychology services clinic and coordination of care between clinics, as well as case management of dually diagnosed higher-needs Veterans.

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: LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j.
• 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).
• 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.

Experience, Education, and Licensure

• In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• Senior LPMHCs must have five years of post-licensed experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise and be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• 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.