Qualifications

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
• English Language Proficiency
• In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English
• Education - Master's or doctoral degree in one of the following: 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 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling
• Licensure - Must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment
• Grandfather Provision: An LPMHC employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (4/3/2018) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-11) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting the full qualification requirements
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade
• The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade
• Grade Determinations: GS-13 LPMHC (Program Manager) Requirements: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-13 you must possess 1 year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade which demonstrates the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency
• 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
• 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
• Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs
• Ability to design system changes based on data
• 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
• Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications
• 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
• Ability to make judgments and decisions associated with program management
• Ability to monitor program outcomes using data driven quality assurance process
• Ability to develop productivity standards appropriate to each service provided
• Ability to manage a wide range of programs which include the operation and management of key clinical, training or administrative programs
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Qualification Standard The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.