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.
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. 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). 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. 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. NOTE: It is VHA policy that a LPMHC who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. Exception. VHA may waive the licensure requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure. This exception only applies up to the full performance level. For grade levels at or above the full performance level, the candidate must be licensed. Grandfather Provision. All persons employed in VHA in as LPMHC on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. . For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level, or demoted within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. (3) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (4) If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. (5) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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. Grade Determinations: s. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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 inter professional 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 to GS-12.
The GS-12 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder-Substance Use Disorder (PTSD-SUD) senior licensed professional mental health counselor (LPMHC) is assigned 25% as the PTSD-SUD specialist and 75% as a LPMHC on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT). This position may be assigned to either the Vancouver or Portland campus, or any of the 10 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) of the VAPORHCS. The VA medical facility PTSD-SUD Senior LPMHC, through either direct patient care or supporting clinical staff working with Veterans diagnosed with co-occurring PTSD and SUD, is responsible for coordinating treatment planning and delivery of services that best meet the needs of Veterans diagnosed with co-occurring PTSD and SUD regardless of the setting of care where services are being provided. The PTSD-SUD Senior LPMHC will serve as a consultant on Veterans' care with VA health care providers throughout the VA medical facility who may directly interact with Veterans presenting with co-occurring PTSD and SUD. The PTSD-SUD Senior LPMHC will act as a liaison between all relevant programs to ensure the Veteran has access to additional SUD or PTSD services as needed, and as a consultant to VA medical facility staff on strategies for adapting care secondary to trauma (i.e., trauma informed treatment approaches). FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES The PTSD/SUD Specialist functions as an expert in treating veterans who are dually diagnosed with PTSD and a substance use disorder. a) PTSD-SUD Specialist (25%) Responsible for facility wide PTSD-SUD duties as described in VHA Directive 1160.04 (1) VHA Programs for Veterans with Substance Use Disorders, VHA Directive 1160.03 Treatment for Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and VHA Handbook 1601.01 Uniform Mental Health Services in VA Medical Centers and Clinics. Serves as a point person, consultant, and source of information and problem-solving for issues that involve dual diagnosis treatment for PTSD and SUD service at VAPORHCS, including community based outreach clinics (CBOCs) Provides and coordinates SUD services for Veterans receiving PTSD treatment, facilitates PTSD treatment for those receiving SUD specialty care and act as a liaison to help all relevant programs collaborate to ensure the Veteran has access to additional PTSD-SUD services as needed. Provides direct clinical service services to Veterans with a dual diagnosis of PTSD and SUD that is consistent with VA-DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines. Perform liaison activities such as attending team and staff meetings on PTSD and SUD clinical teams in addition to providing education to colleagues across the facility about evidence-based treatment and resources for concurrent treatments. Is a subject matter expert for the discipline and is expected to mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice. Expands clinical knowledge in the profession, demonstrating innovation in the creation of new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address specialized clinical needs that may include initial engagement around PTSD or SUD treatment. Uses professional skill, objectively, and insight. Uses advanced clinical training, insight, and experience to identify viable treatment options and coordinate services between SATP, residential care and mental health. Possesses advanced skill in assessing high risk factors, acuity, and need for services. Develops strategies to increase access for dual diagnosis services, in addition to, working directly with the multidisciplinary teams in both SATP and PCT programs to help identify Veterans who could benefit from evidence-based treatment and will design interventions to improve outcomes. a. Provides input into needed system changes and may help PCT and SATP leadership write policy, procedures, or practice guidelines for the treatment of PTSD-SUD treatment. The incumbent requires specialized knowledge of two or more areas of intervention, including (but not limited to) evidence-based practices for PTSD and SUD such as Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and SUD using Prolonged Exposure (COPE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Motivational Interviewing, and/or Cognitive Behavioral therapy for SUD. Demonstrated training and experience with Written Exposure Therapy (WET) and/or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) will also be considered in this position. Work Schedule: M-F, 0800-1630 Compressed/Flexible: May be available Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized