The Senior Social Worker - Posttraumatic Stress Disorder- Substance Use Disorder (PTSD-SUD) is a specialist who provides professional therapeutic services as a member of the PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) and acts as a liaison to SUD specialty care clinics.
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: Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker GS-0185-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification: Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Preferred Experience: Experience working with mental health populations. Experience providing individual and/or group therapy. 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 GS-12. Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The PTSD-SUD Specialist is a member of the PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) who works with the PTSD and SUD specialty services, providing clinical consultation with staff and services to a panel of patients with complex, comorbid health conditions. Direct clinical service duties may include, but are not limited to: Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the care setting, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems and focused psychosocial, cognitive, or other assessments. Utilizes appropriate instruments and structured interviews. Generates diagnostic reports. Serves as an authoritative source of information in the use and interpretation of techniques to make differential diagnoses. Provides expert consultation to other programs or units with regard to assessment and evaluation procedures. Offers a full range of group and individual mental health interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in the treatment of PTSD and SUD; (such as Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Written Exposure Therapy). Demonstrates sensitivity to the special needs of all patients in respect to age, gender, ethnicity, developmental requirements, and culturally-related factors. Delivers appropriate evidenced-based interventions for families and identified supports, as needed. Engages in treatment planning and clinical care meetings within the PTSD and SUD programs both with and without Veterans present, to facilitate care planning and collaborative, complex care management and coordination. Conceptualizes, develops and implements detailed intervention plans for a full range of services. Utilizes judgment in the adjustment of intervention plans. Monitors patient's progress, determines when reassessment is appropriate and adjusts intervention plans when needed. Facilitates care coordination including warm handoffs for Veterans with complex needs related to PTSD and SUD who require a variety of addiction, mental health and primary care services at the medical center. Provides appropriate services via telehealth. Provides comprehensive professional care documentation in the patient record system, adhering with timeliness standards for quality care. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 01447F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized