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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 of this position serves as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) providing clinical services within the Community Recovery Programs for the Mental Health Intensive Case Management Team (MHICM) for Canandaigua and Rochester. Performs assessment, evaluation, and treatment for patients individually, in group and/or in family therapy with problems of personality, emotional adjustment, or mental illness. Uses therapeutic techniques within their clinical privileges or scopes of practice to assess lethality. Provides crisis intervention, case management, education on Advance Directives, grief counseling, guidance, advocacy, supportive counseling, and recovery focused counseling and other treatment approaches that may be necessary. He/she must have knowledge of family dynamics, developmental theory and interpersonal relationships and system approach to care. Through clinical interviews and observation, assesses patient's apparent level of intelligence, behavior, and personality variable. Responsible for selection of a recovery intervention modality, monitoring the patient's safety and assess progress in all indicated treatment modalities and, with the consultation of the treatment team, termination of services. Conducts interviews or observes the patient to assess emotional, functional, or psychological condition. Employs professional maturity in using interview, observation, personal histories, and other measurement devise in the assessment of adverse group of clients. Incumbent uses this data for comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment for setting goals and developing treatment plans. Based on data gathered during the assessment, plans an appropriate clinical treatment with individual patients. Develops comprehensive treatment plans specific to the patient. The patients assigned often have multiple complicating factors (i.e., physical disabilities, lack of support or resources) or other external or environmental consideration that complicate treatment. Acts as a liaison with community hospitals and agencies, as well as individuals providing information and access to VA resources. Coordinating the use of VA, and community resources to meet the Veteran's needs. These resources include, but are not limited to referral to respite, hospice, Hoptel, HECC, Prosthetics, benefits, Lifespan, Eldersource, Social Services, Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, legal, disability, Lifeline and Liftline. Incumbent judges' effectiveness of techniques and when indicated seeks advice from the clinical treatment team or adjusts practices if therapies seen ineffective. Continually monitors patient's progress. Determines when reassessment is appropriate and adjusts treatment plan accordingly. When appropriate and has a competency may use newly proven therapies. In the clinic setting Incumbent(s) have the added obligation to assess and manage psychiatric emergencies in the primary care community setting where there are far fewer immediately available resources to respond to psychiatric emergencies. Functions as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team. Functions as the point of contact for assigned patients throughout their treatment program. Meets with patients before each treatment team meeting to ensure that the treatment planning process is ongoing. Reviews assessments/assists patients with the development of recovery goals/needs/interventions. Completes discharge/transition and progress notes in a timely manner. Serving as a consultant to other disciplines to assist them in identifying those cases in which the Veteran could benefit from mental health case management or intervention. When assigned a mental health counseling student form the Mental Health Counseling Stipend Internship Program, incumbent will supervise training activities of the student and will participate in the Mental Health Counseling Student committee as needed. The incumbent works with patients from age 18 and above. The incumbent develops and maintains appropriate communications, rapport and positive relationships with colleagues and a variety of institutions, organizations and service providers within and outside of the organization. The incumbent Independently provides consultation services to other staff members regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans. Provides consultation on the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plans. Evaluates his/her own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm Functional Statement #: 21S82-O EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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. 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 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. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: 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. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. 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. Hold a master's 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). 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 LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. 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. NOTE: It is VHA policy that a LPMHC who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. 4. G43-2 April 3, 2018 VA HANDBOOK 5005/106 PART II APPENDIX G43 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 Determinations: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-11 (Full Performance Level) Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of post-master's or post- doctoral degree mental health counseling experience (VA or non-VA experience) and must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level and demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (c) below. LPMHCs may provide clinical supervision over the clinical practice of an unlicensed LPMHC or LPMHC trainee. Some state licenses do not license an individual to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs. Please refer to specific state licensing laws regarding the requirements for providing clinical supervision. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/106 PART II APPENDIX G43The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Education 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.