Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor-Primary Care Mental Health Integration(PCMHI)

About the role

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.

Major duties and responsibilities

• Provides PCMHI services to Veterans who are referred by PACT as potential candidates for mental health/behavioral health services.
• Provides a full range of mental health services (assessment/treatment) as indicated for primary care environment and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients including those with medical conditions that have mental health components (e.g., diabetes, thyroid disorders, digestive system disorders, chronic pain, other chronic illnesses as well as substance use disorders).
• Serves as a point of contact for same-day access to mental health services, including crisis intervention, for Veterans as deemed necessary by the service, in person and by telephone and telehealth.
• Makes the clinical decision to enroll Veterans in BHL telephone services for conditions warranting additional attention (e.g., depression monitoring, watchful waiting) and any of a number of dispositions within PC-MHI (e.g., brief therapy, referral management).
• Provides education appropriate to patients with mental and behavioral health concerns, their family members, and significant others.
• Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions (EBP) appropriate to patients, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy (e.g., Motivational Interviewing (Ml) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), etc.) as indicated.
• Provides consultation to PACT staff, other care providers within The VA Medical Center at Memphis, CBOCs, VISN 9 BHL and PCMHI, and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.
• Develops, implements, and documents all patient care including treatment plans, crisis intervention and suicide risk assessment in CPRS to assure ongoing communication with PACT Teams and VISN 9 BHL.
• Facilitates liaisons with other care programs (e.g., Homeless Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, specialty mental health, etc) in the VA Medical Center at Memphis in order to effectively coordinate services for PACT patients.
• May provide clinical supervision and instruction to trainees on rotation in PCMHI.
• Assists the PACT and other PCMHI providers in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for Primary Care Clinics.
• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the PACT Teams established by the Chief of Primary Care and/or Ambulatory Care Director.
• Assists the PCMHI and PACT in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.

Qualifications

• 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).
• Licensed to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment.
• At least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• 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.