Marriage And Family Therapist

Employee works on the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) team within the Mental Health Service Line to provide marriage and family therapy and individual and group therapy. The employee works on an interdisciplinary team ( BHIP) which provides services 5 days a week. Employee is capable of practicing at the advanced level and has specialized knowledge of practice typically related crisis intervention and management. The employee functions above the full performance level which requires at least five years of post-licensed clinical experience in delivery of family systems therapy including completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex post-masters degree experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment demonstrating progressively more professional competency. The employee must possess licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level (advanced practice license is preferred). The BHIP ALMFT provides mental health services on an outpatient basis.

Work Schedule: Full Time Monday-Friday 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m
Relocation/Recruitment Incentive: Authorized
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: F03191
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.
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)

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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

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.
• Education: Candidates must meet one of the following:
  • Hold a masters degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE
  • Hold a masters degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution OR
  • Hold a masters degree or doctoral degree in a comparable mental health degree (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Social Work Psychiatric Nursing Psychology and Psychiatry) that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession.
• Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0182 series in VHA must hold a full current and unrestricted MFT license to independently practice marriage and family therapy in a State. For grades at or above the full performance level the candidate must be licensed.
• Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as a MFT on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education that is part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements 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 may be reassigned promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level demoted but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  • MFTs 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.
  • Employees who are retained as a MFT under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry as a MFT

• Education Experience and Licensure: Candidate must have successfully completed evidence based training in family therapy and must have graduated from a COAMFTE accredited program OR have passed the AMFTRE. Candidate must have at least five years of post-licensed clinical experience in delivery of family systems therapy including one-year equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. This experience must demonstrate the use of an evidence based family therapy model while exhibiting progressive professional competency and expertise. Assignments requiring responsibility for providing clinical supervision must have an AAMFT Approved Supervisor addition the candidate must demonstrate the professional KSAs listed below.
• Demonstrated KSAs: In addition to meeting the KSAs for GS-12 grade level the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • Ability to provide specialized consultation for complex cases involving individuals families and/or couples utilizing evidenced-based family systems theory/therapy.
  • Ability to provide crisis intervention which includes assessment safety planning and complex treatment planning using independent clinical judgment utilizing family systems theory/therapy.
  • Ability to provide family systems therapy which seeks to address Veterans and their family members on an individual level and deals with interpersonal interactions.
  • Ability to provide unlicensed MFT staff/trainees with systemic clinical supervision towards licensure from a family systems theory/therapy perspective.
• Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope complexity (difficulty) and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Advanced MFTs can be assigned as the sole licensed mental health provider in settings such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics or have responsibility and oversight for a MFT training program established under VA/VHA training policy as well as provide systemic clinical supervision to those MFT interns. The Advanced MFT who has responsibility for the training program provides family systemic clinical supervision to unlicensed MFTs and provides clinical consultation to less experienced staff. Advanced MFTs develop behavioral health related training curriculum and conduct trainings for clinical staff. Advanced MFTs meet routinely with inter-professional team members and leadership to communicate about program and veteran and family issues for in depth problem solving.