Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor-Clinical Resource Hub

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.

01Basic 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 Requirement: Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.

02Education

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). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling.

CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from http://www.cacrep.org/directory/. NOTE: traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling.

03Licensure

Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0101 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. Grade Determinations for Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12 (a) 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. (b) Assignments.

Senior LPMHCs provide treatment to patients with complex needs including multiple mental health diagnoses, and numerous psychosocial issues, using independent judgment. LPMHCs at this level provide clinical consultation to less experienced staff which may include coordinating crisis situations. Senior LPMHCs will provide clinical supervision to LPMHC staff and/or LPMHC trainees, and may serve as the subject matter expert for the discipline.

Senior LPMHCs develop behavioral health related training curriculum and often conduct trainings for clinical staff. LPMHCs model ethical and professional behaviors and standards to include multicultural awareness. Senior LPMHCs meet routinely with interprofessional team members and leadership to communicate about program and patient issues for in depth problem solving. Senior LPMHCs collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and frequently serve as a liaison.

This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 1.

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. 2.

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. 3. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on data. 4.

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. 5. Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications. 6.

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. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

04Preferred Experience

Extensive evidence-based psychotherapy training and experience. Preferred experience with Federal EHR (Oracle Health/Cerner), and telehealth modalities. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 12.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Integrated Care Model and Team Structure Provides integrated mental health (IMH) services using the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) model, via telehealth, to multiple Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 5 facilities within an interprofessional primary care team.

Collaborate with the IMH team (psychology, social work, psychiatry, nursing, pharmacy), the telehealth primary care team (clerical associate, provider, pharmacist), and patient-site team members (clerical associate, clinical associate, Registered Nurse (RN) care manager). Delivers brief (20-30 minutes), limited (1-6) behavioral health visits in primary care, supporting medical providers across a broad scope of concerns so Veterans view visits as routine primary care.

Participates on the PCMHI treatment team, collaborating with Veterans, families, Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members, and interdisciplinary staff (Primary Care Providers, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Pharmacists, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors, RNs, Peer Support Specialists, administrative support staff) to develop and implement treatment plans.

Clinical Assessment and Treatment Establishes effective therapeutic relationships and work independently with Veterans and families experiencing complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems. Completes functional assessments of psychosocial needs to help Veterans maximize treatment use and reach the highest practicable independence. Applies working knowledge of mental health and substance abuse diagnoses and treatments, including acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses.

Independently provides clinically appropriate brief interventions, individual or group psychotherapy, evidence-based therapy, counseling, and supportive groups for depression, anxiety, stress, sleep hygiene, and other concerns. Uses symptom monitoring, decision support, and patient education and activation, and treat emergent problems such as non-adherence or medication side effects.

Provides crisis intervention to outpatients in acute psychological crises, stabilize them, arrange inpatient psychiatric transfer if necessary, and follow up. Care Coordination, Case Management, and Consultation Facilitates timely discharge planning with Veterans, families, and the team, including triage to higher-level mental health care or return to Primary Care. Assists with referral to specialty mental health care programs when needed.

Serves as liaison between Veterans, families, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and community resources. Educates Veterans and families on community resources, VA benefits, specialty programs, and advance directives, including accessing community-based services and referring to other VA, government, and community programs. Consults with PACT and treatment team members on psychosocial needs and their impact on health care planning, treatment compliance, and discharge planning.

Provides case management across the continuum of care, applying human growth and development principles and assisting Veterans coping with loss and grief from disability and terminal illness. Communication, Documentation, and Technology Documents in the Veteran's electronic medical record (Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) and Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM)). Uses software applications and VHA computer systems for documents and data management.

Quality, Compliance, and Professional Development Supports the mission, policies, and procedures of VA, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the VISN, and the facility. Maintains productivity and quality consistent with assignment complexity and professional, Joint Commission, and facility standards. Serves on facility committees and work groups as deemed appropriate by the supervisor. Pursues continuing education appropriate to the area of assignment.

Orients less experienced providers and precept trainees when appropriate. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available Telework: PLEASE NOTE: THIS POSITION IS CURRENTLY ON A MID-TERM EXTENSTION FROM RETURN TO OFFICE REQUIREMENTS. MID-TERM EXTENSION POSITIONS ARE REVIEWED REGULARLY AND DO NOT CONFER PERMANENT REMOTE WORK STATUS; the selected individual may be required to work on site if space is available, or may need to return to a VA office if required.

Any selected candidate must live within 50 miles of a VA Medical Center. Applicants within the VISN 5 catchment area are given priority. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.