Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (PTSD Program Coordinator)

Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Responsibilities The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) Clinical Coordinator provides mental health services under the Mental Health/Behavioral Sciences Service (MHBSS) at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital (JAHVAH) in Tampa, FL. These mental health services include programmatic responsibility for assessment, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment/aftercare planning, case management, and individual/group therapy to 30 complex care Veterans with the JAHVAH. The incumbent also assists with coordinating the work assignments of three Case Managers which requires advanced clinical experience, case management, team building, program development, and clinic program coordination skills. The position also requires the incumbent to assist the Programs Section Chief (SPSC) and Associate Chief of Staff MHBSS in developing, implementing, and refining services offered. The JAHVAH is a Level I tertiary medical center with general medicine, surgical, psychiatric, rehabilitation, spinal cord injury, nursing home care beds and one of four Polytrauma treatment facilities in the VA. It also encompasses one major outpatient clinic in New Port Richey and three Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Brooksville, Lakeland and Zephyrhills. Some of the duties include, but are not limited to; Assists in psychosocial case and care management, discharge planning, health care coordination advocacy and referral, community referrals, and the rendering of a decision regarding the presenting diagnosis with coordination of the treatment plan including recommendations for continued treatment or therapy for a variety of different mental disorders that could include particularly complex or unusually difficult patients. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. Maintains primary responsibility for the development and management of the clinical programming schedule which involves significant coordination and collaboration with other VA services, including Vocational Rehabilitation, Recreational Therapy, and Dietary Services; as well as community agencies that provide employment services, housing referrals, and community integration activities. Provides a full range of assessment/treatment services to assigned patients that would include comprehensive review of current mental illness symptoms, advanced psychosocial case and care management, discharge planning, health care coordination advocacy and referral, community referrals, and the rendering of a decision regarding the presenting diagnosis with coordination of the treatment plan including recommendations for continued treatment or therapy for a variety of different mental disorders that could include particularly complex or unusually difficult patients. Provides consultation to professional staff within Tampa VAMC and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients. Functions as an experienced senior clinician with responsibility and accountability for the technical accuracy of Veteran evaluations and the soundness of treatment plans and case management services. Serves as a field instructor for graduate level licensed mental health counselor interns that includes weekly face-to-face sessions, as well as phone consultation on an as-needed basis. Manages and controls the use of data related to the PTSD program regarding day-today functioning, workload distribution and program evaluation. Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Program Coordinator, FS #71190F. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN8CCOE@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/10/2024. 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 masters 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. 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. 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). 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Grade Determinations: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience, Education, and Licensure: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must have been in a major specialty treatment program area such as, but not limited to, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), or other areas of equivalent scope and complexity. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledges Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. If selected, you may be required to submit narrative responses then. These are the KSAs for this subject position and grade level: In depth knowledge of the program coordinated, and demonstrated knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to make key decisions in the hiring and identification of top candidates. Ability to provide leadership in facilitating the process of coordinating program consults, assessments, admissions, care assignments and discharges. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to other colleagues and trainees within the field of counseling working on an interdisciplinary team. Preferred Experience: Preferred PTSD clinical experience. Reference: For more information on this Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor qualification standard, specifically from VA Handbook 5005/106, Part II, Appendix G43, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Able to meet the physical demands of the position, to include sitting, standing, frequent walking, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Must have good manual dexterity and be able to view computer monitor for extensive reading, overall completion of work, preparing reports, analyzing data, entering documentation in electronic health record and more. Education Must hold a masters or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling OR Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling OR 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/. IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.