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Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. Responsibilities The incumbent serves as an RCS Vet Center Advanced Marriage and Family Therapist providing direct counseling services, outreach, referral, and follow-up care coordination to eligible individuals, couples, and family members and has experience and training that reflects an ability to provide expert clinical consultation to staff on complex psychosocial conditions, relational and readjustment stress utilizing evidenced-based family systems theory/therapy. Functions as a member of a small multi-disciplinary team of 4 or more members inclusive of Marriage and Family Therapists, other mental health professionals, outreach workers and office management staff, and provides clinical consultation to other clinicians. As a Vet Center Advanced Marriage and Family Therapist, 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. Functions and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 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: 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: Communicates routinely with inter-professional team members and leadership to communicate about program and patient issues for in depth problem solving, while consistently modeling ethical and professional behaviors and standards to include multicultural awareness. Serves on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VAMC, and Zone, District, or national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the VCD. 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. 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. 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 individual's 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. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm; Monday - Friday, standard operational hours with occasional evenings and weekends based on operational need of the facility Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 323480 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized NOTE: Senior counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, and Marriage & Family Therapist. Each discipline is announced separately, and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified. Requirements 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's 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 evaluation. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). 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: Must be proficient in both spoken and written English in accordance with VA policy. Education: Candidates must meet one of the following: (1) Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), ~OR~ (2) Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution, ~OR~ (3) Hold a master's 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. 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 DETERMINATION: GS-12 Grade Determinations: Experience, Education and Licensure: In addition to the basic requirements, candidate must have successfully completed evidence based training in family therapy and must have graduated from a COAMFTE accredited program OR have passed the AMFTRBE. 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. This position provides clinical supervision requiring that candidates have an AAMFT Approved Supervisor credential. Per VA Notice 2022-08, AAMFT Supervisor Candidates have 2 years from date of placement into a covered assignment to obtain the designation. Selectees not possessing an AAMFT Approved Supervisor credential must sign a Statement of Understanding upon appointment stating they have two years to complete this requirement. ~AND~ Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition, the candidates must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to provide specialized consultation for complex cases involving individuals, families and/or couples utilizing evidenced-based family systems theory/therapy. 2. Ability to provide crisis intervention which includes assessment, safety planning and complex treatment planning using independent clinical judgment utilizing family systems theory/therapy. 3. Ability to provide family systems therapy, which seeks to address Veterans and their family members on an individual level and deals with interpersonal interactions. 4. Ability to provide unlicensed MFT staff/trainees with systemic clinical supervision towards licensure from a family systems theory/therapy perspective. Preferred Experience: Working with combat veterans in providing family counseling services. Working with veterans who were sexually traumatized/harassed while in the military. Conducting psycho-social assessments and the provision of processing psychotherapy for trauma related conditions. Implementing treatment plans for combat Veterans/and their families. 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-12. Physical Requirements: The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.