Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

NOTE: This position can be recruited multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker & Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor. Each discipline is announced separately and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.

The incumbent serves as an RCS Vet Center Senior Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor providing direct counseling services outreach referral and follow-up care coordination to eligible individuals within a VSA and has experience and training that reflects an ability to provide expert clinical consultation to staff on complex psychosocial conditions and readjustment stress. The incumbent provides services to a broad range of Veterans service members and family members with different military experiences and from various socioeconomic cultural ethnic educational and other diversified this capacity the incumbent functions as a member of a small multi-disciplinary team usually of 4 or more members inclusive of licensed professional counselors other mental health professionals outreach workers and office management staff but provides clinical consultation to other clinicians. As the Vet Center Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor the incumbent plays a core role in the coordination of client care and Vet Center staff professional development.

Provide multiple modalities of direct service readjustment counseling including individual couple group and family. Within the context of family services will also have established expertise in providing bereavement services to surviving family members of active-duty Service members killed while on active military duty.

Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Screening and Assessment: Works directly with eligible individuals to establish a therapeutic relationship sufficient for completing all required readjustment counseling intake procedures to include an assessment of risk for self-harm and psychosocial stressors.
• Counseling Planning/Goal Setting: Based on the outcome of the intake will develop and periodically update an individualized readjustment counseling service plan that reflects a course of therapeutic and psychosocial interventions inclusive of outcome measurements.
• Direct Service Provision: Independently implement professional clinical practice applications in the provision of readjustment counseling to individuals couples families and groups.
• Risk Assessment and Crisis Intervention: Above full performance the individual provides consultation and associated support for staff developing crisis intervention strategies which includes assessment safety planning and complex treatment planning using independent clinical judgment using family systems theory/therapy.
• Care coordination: Links the Veteran with other community services resources and opportunities to maximize the Veterans independence health and well-being.
• Outreach: Acts as clinical consultant to the Vet Center outreach workers to improve their sensitivity to clinical indicators and basic interviewing questions to expedite the transition of prospective clients contacted on outreach to actual Vet Center readjustment counseling clients.
• Documentation/Administrative Responsibilities/Consultation: Actively participate in one-to-one clinical and administrative oversight during administrative and clinical staff meetings as directed by the Vet Center Director.
• Clinical Supervision Consultation Training Review and Evaluation: provides clinical consultation services to other staff members with clinical service responsibilities under the supervision of the Vet Center Director. The scope of clinical consultation services will include all aspects of direct readjustment counseling service such as advising on the clinical assessment service planning and case coordination with community providers when the individuals needs are beyond the scope of services available at a Vet Center.
• Team cohesion and coordination: Actively participate in staff meetings designed to promote team building and staff development.
• Other Duties: May perform other duties as assigned as appropriate for the grade and assignment and which are within the scope of practice.

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

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: Candidates must meet one of the following:
  • 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).

• 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Senior LPHMCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 Part II Chapter 3 Section A paragraph 3j.

• At least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• Senior LPMHCs must have five years of post-licensed experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise and be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs.

• 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.