Rehabilitation Counselor

The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care you will operate in a model with three core elements seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veterans community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor Americas Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Rehabilitation Counselors in the Veterans Health Administration work with persons who experience functional impairments and disabilities associated with mental health physical and/or psychosocial challenges affecting employment independent living or personal adjustment. Rehabilitation Counselors utilize various professional counseling and clinical modalities to promote and support optimal functioning independence personal adjustment adaptation to disability community reintegration and recovery. Rehabilitation Counselors work with an interdisciplinary team to provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation counseling services to Veterans with disabilities including assessment counseling and case management services development of rehabilitation plans and assistance in attaining and maintaining employment independent living and attaining personal goals.

The Recovery-oriented clinical vocational rehabilitation services offer an array of vocational educational training employment and therapeutic work services. They include skill development fostering of natural supports and assistance with obtaining and maintaining employment for Veterans for whom the primary objective is competitive employment. The CWT Programming supports persons with functional psychological developmental cognitive and emotional impairments or health disabilities to overcome barriers to accessing maintaining or returning to employment and/or education. Vocational rehabilitation provides services to promote and support optimal functioning and development of Veterans by utilizing appropriate counseling and training. The Supported Employment Program of CWT is intended for Veterans with significant barriers to employment due to severe mental illness post-traumatic stress disorder or physical disabilities such as traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury who because of their symptoms and functional impairments would not be able to function independently in employment without intensive ongoing supportive services.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as a journey level Rehabilitation Counselor providing personal adjustment counseling therapeutic rehabilitation interventions and case coordination services. Uses evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities to aid Veterans with severe disabilities such as physical psychosocial psychological or neurological barriers integrate successfully into the community. Serves Veterans who have myriad barriers to overcome and achieve competitive employment educational and independent living goals.
• Provide a variety of professional rehabilitation counseling services such as personal adjustment counseling therapeutic rehabilitation interventions and case coordination services utilizing evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities and professional counseling practices to aid Veterans with severe disabilities in achieving competitive employment and educational and independent living goals. Uses effective counseling skills to promote self-awareness adjustment to disability enhanced job retention and successful integration to the community.
• Conduct biopsychosocial assessments using medical records pertinent disability documentation observation and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate personal vocational and educational histories.
• Selects administers and interprets vocational and other psychometric instruments to evaluate abilities transferrable skills functional capacity labor market analyses aptitudes interests values preferences and overall work resilience and synthesize into an interpretive data report.
• Consult with interdisciplinary teams to enhance coordination of care ensure medical clearance and provide for optimal timing of further interventions.

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.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.
• A valid drivers license is required.

• 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.
  • (1) A masters degree in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a rehabilitation counseling program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). If the applicants degree was granted prior to July 1 2017 the program must be accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education. OR
  • (2) A masters degree in counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). OR
  • (3) A masters or doctoral degree in a related field of study with course content that emphasized rehabilitation counseling disability therapy health employment wellness or human development from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA. OR
  • (4) Foreign graduates with a degree acceptable by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC).
• Certification. Current full and unrestricted certification as a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC) from the CRCC to practice vocational rehabilitation counseling.
  • (1) Exceptions for Graduate RCs.
    • (a) RC graduates from an approved counseling or rehabilitation counseling program who otherwise meet the basic qualification requirements and the additional degree requirements for CRC certification by the CRCC but do not possess the required certification may be appointed pending certification as a graduate RC on a full-time temporary appointment not-to-exceed two years under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405(a)(1)(D).
    • (b) Graduate RCs may only be appointed at the entry grade level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained.
    • (c) Temporary graduate RC appointments may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

• (a) Knowledge of human development and behavior medical psychosocial and vocational aspects of disability and differential influences of environmental factors to assist persons with disabilities in determining suitable vocational goals.
• (b) Knowledge of history philosophy and disability rights legislation in the field of rehabilitation to apply in the practice of rehabilitation counseling.
• (c) Ability to synthesize assessment and diagnosis information in conjunction with labor market trends and community/educational resources to develop an effective individual service delivery plan.
• (d) Knowledge of caseload management strategies to maximize an individuals independent functioning from assessment through provision of post-employment services.
• (e) Ability to employ person-centered job development strategies to facilitate successful job placement.
• (f) Knowledge of assessment tools and methods functional capacity evaluations and specific vocational preparation to evaluate transferrable skills residual capacities and needs for accommodations and assistive technology.

• (a) Knowledge of physical and psychological disabilities appropriate accommodations and assistive technology principles to mitigate and reduce or eliminate barriers to integrate into the community.
• (b) Knowledge of counseling theory medical and psychiatric terminology and signs and symptomology of suicidal and homicidal ideations to communicate appropriately with community health care professionals to provide useful input to other team members and employers in relation to the Veteran and/or his/her familys psychosocial needs and to recommend and help implement suitable treatment plans.
• (c) Ability to use evidence-based and evidence informed vocational and professional counseling practices to include individual placement and support (IPS) customized employment and supported employment models and motivational interviewing skills to promote self-awareness adjustment to disability enhanced job retention and successful integration to the community.
• (d) Knowledge of career development processes and job analysis methodology to determine essential functions of jobs worksite modifications and/or alternative vocational goals given the work history and residual functional capacities of individuals with disabilities.
• (e) Ability to administer and interpret a wide variety of assessment methods including transferrable skills and labor market analyses to evaluate for individual interests aptitudes and abilities and to identify suitable vocational goals for the development of an effective individual service delivery plan.
• (f) Knowledge of marketing strategies to develop collaborative partnerships/Memorandums of Agreement within VA and local business community to enhance employment and/or work opportunities.
• (g) Knowledge of military lifestyle specific factors and dynamics associated with Veterans particularly combat Veterans to assist those who are returning to community and community based-work.