Hybrid Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor en Department of Veterans Affairs

Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Chesapeake County, Virginia

Salary Range: $75038 - $97544 Per Year

Job Summary: The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor at the GS-11 level is a full performance level position, which requires completion of a master's degree in counseling from a CACREP accredited school and licensure in a state at the independent practice level. The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor provides mental health care coordination for eligible Veterans in Mental Health Outpatient and/or Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program clinics in the CBOC Services Line.

Major Duties:

• Clinical Responsibilities a. Independently performs case/care management functions and outreach. Identifying and screening patients for psychological needs. Possesses the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups. b. Independently conducts psychosocial assessments. Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team if applicable. Possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions. c. Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. d. Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint. Provides support for those Veterans on the High Risk for Suicide list. e. Has working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. f. Develops patient education materials/modules and assists with Veteran Peer and Family activities as assigned. g. Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Ability to evaluate own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. h. Serves as Mental Health Treatment Coordinator for the patients on assigned team. i. Independently coordinates with other services to include, but not limited to Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI, MH Connect Team), Inpatient Psychiatry Team, and/or Substance Use Disorder Outpatient Program to ensure Veterans needs are met. Administrative Responsibilities a. Possesses working knowledge and skill in the use of word-processing, data management and other computer systems, especially those programs in use by VHA. b. Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team, assigned program and/clinic. Community Based Clinics, and the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service. c. Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Program Manager, Service Chief, Chief of Staff, and/or Medical Center Director. d. Remains actively involved in CBOC and MH&BS LPMHC training, education, and administrative activities as indicated. e. Actively participates in and assumes responsibilities associated with committee assignments to include Performance Improvement. Peer Review, and Performance Measures. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

Qualifications: 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. 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. 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: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-11 (Full Performance Level) (a) Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of post-master's or post- doctoral degree mental health counseling experience (VA or non-VA experience) and must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level and demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (c) below. LPMHCs may provide clinical supervision over the clinical practice of an unlicensed LPMHC or LPMHC trainee. Some state licenses do not license an individual to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs. Please refer to specific state licensing laws regarding the requirements for providing clinical supervision. (b) Assignments. This is the full performance grade level for LPMHCs. At this level they are licensed to independently practice professional counseling and to provide mental health services within the knowledge, theory, and training foundations of professional counseling. LPMHCs may be assigned to any VHA area, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. LPMHCs may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities. (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-9 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 1. Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation. 2. Advanced knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counseling process which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining an effective counseling relationship. 3. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the counseling process within various specialty areas, build on the foundation of competence through regular meetings and discussions to explain assignments, review progress of cases and confer about the counseling perspectives and orientation. 4. Ability to provide complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill. 5. Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced- based practices, screening, and psychosocial assessment. 6. Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions. 7. Ability to fully utilize the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention using professional counseling practices. 8. Ability to develop and facilitate psychotherapy and psycho- education groups that include life skills, family support, and community integration. This may include evidence based psychotherapy. 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-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/30/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12766573. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2025-07-30