Clarification from the agency

Open to all U.S. Citizens with current, permanent VA Employees receiving first consideration. You must submit a current non-award SF-50 to establish you are in the priority area of consideration. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Duties:

• The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor will conduct psychosocial assessments to determine needs of veterans and family members.
• The incumbent evaluates the need for mental health services and makes appropriate referrals for individual, group marital and family treatment services.
• The incumbent will conduct crisis management intervention to suicidal patients including conducting suicide risk assessments, referral to the appropriate level of care for continued mental health treatment, means reduction and the development of crisis management safety plans with patient input.
• The incumbent will assist with coordinating the enhanced care which are required for a ninety-day period or longer for patients on the facility high risk for suicide flag.
• The incumbent will participate in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans include the appropriate follow for patients that are flagged high risk for suicide in a manner that is timely and appropriate.
• The incumbent will provide a full range of mental health services within commonly accepted standards of clinical mental health practice which include case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as indicated/appropriate.
• The incumbent will coordinate treatment and communicate with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans.
• The incumbent will document clinical interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing Electronic Health Records and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care.
• Frequent travel may be required as part of providing suicide prevention social work case management services to suicidal service members and/or patients and their families, at locations such as CBOCs, community agencies or patient residences, etc. Such travel may require the incumbent to function without immediate supervision and consultation.
• Maintains a level of productivity and quality consistent with facility and clinical mental health standards and the complexity of the assignment.
• Participates in interdisciplinary team meetings, appropriate facility meetings, and clinical mental health meetings. Shares knowledge and experiences gained from own clinical practice and education relevant to the field of clinical mental health.
• Must be able to provide supervision for licensure and social work student supervision.
• The incumbent performs other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 8:00am-4:30pm
Functional Statement #: 92201

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

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.

The basic requirements for employment as a LPMHC are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. §7402(b)(11). To qualify for appointment as a LPMHC all applicants must:

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).
• 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.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• English Language Proficiency. LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j

Grandfather Provision. All persons employed in VHA in as LPMHC on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(1) Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level, or demoted within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.(2) Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.(3) Employees 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.(4) If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.(5) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

Grade Determinations:
Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-13
Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. The experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-12 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:
1. Ability to make judgments and decisions associated with program management.
2. Ability to monitor program outcomes using data driven quality assurance process.
3. Ability to develop productivity standards appropriate to each service provided.
4. Ability to manage a wide range of programs which include the operation and management of key clinical, training or administrative programs.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary and primarily performed in an office setting located at the Dayton VA Medical Center. Typical office work involves active listening, reading, observing, and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, writing reports and clinical notes, writing policies and procedures, and speaking to groups of people as part of suicide prevention related trainings. The position requires the use of office equipment such as computers, keyboards, telephones, and all-in-one business machines. Visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity are required. The incumbent may potentially have long periods of walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pushing, pulling and light lifting up to 35 pounds for items such as books, binders, reports, records, and training materials. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of
working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. The work can occur at an off-based workstation in coordination with the community partners. When work is performed in a setting away from the office, the work environment cannot be controlled. This position potentially requires some nontraditional work hours to include possible evening, early morning, weekend, and holiday hours. If required as a condition of employment, the incumbent must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, employee physicals, etc. Occasional Travel will be required to promote suicide prevention initiatives in the community and CBOCs. A valid driver's license is required for official travel. The incumbent who provides care in home settings or other off-site locations may be required to drive and/or ride in GSA vehicles.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.