Clarification from the agency

Open to all U.S. Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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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 Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

At this level, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) who are licensed to independently practice marriage and family therapy consult with peers and supervisors as appropriate. LMFTs can provide general mental health services to Veterans within the ethics and guidelines of the professional standards. LMFTs at this level formulate, implement, and re-evaluate treatment plans through continuous events surrounding the origins and maintenance of the presenting issue, and interactional patterns within the client system.

The Full Time permanent LMFT position is located within the Fargo VA Health Care System. The individual will be embedded within the Mental Health Integrated Care Community (MH ICC) with primary responsibility to provide direct patient care for Veterans in need. This may include couples, families, individuals, and/or groups utilizing family systems theory/therapy, consultation with other disciplines, and providing education to staff and trainees. The incumbent has advanced knowledge of psychological diagnosis, intervention, and behavioral health that qualifies him/her to provide advice and consultation to professionals representing a variety of disciplines. Incumbents at this level may be responsible for clinical supervision for licensing purposes only, provided they have an AAMFT approved supervisor credential.

Clinical Responsibilities: (100%)
- Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions including individual, couples, and psychoeducational groups.
- Provides consultation to professional staff within the Fargo VA and to community providers, concerning appropriate treatment plans for patients.
- Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of outpatient Veterans, including prompt completion of clinical reminders.
- Functions independently as a member of the Fargo VA Medical Staff, with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her patient care decisions, and documentation.
- Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
- Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Service Line Director (or designee) and facility Director.
- Attends regular Psychology Service staff meetings, Medical Staff meetings, and complies with Psychology Service peer review procedures.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Telework: Available (Ad-hoc)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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 identification 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.

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. 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 COAMFTE,
  • (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.
• English Language Proficiency. MFTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3j.

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).

Creditable Experience

(1) Knowledge of current professional marriage and family therapy practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current professional marriage and family therapy practice. The experience must be post-master's degree or above. The experience should include working with couples, families, individuals and/or groups utilizing family systems theory/therapy. The experience also includes the ability to diagnose and treat mental health disorders. Experience satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a MFT, as defined by the appropriate State licensing board.
(2) Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's or higher degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable degree in mental health (Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor and Psychiatry) and includes work as an MFT directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to marriage and family therapy experience at the next lower grade level.
(3) Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as an MFT is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, an MFT employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.
(4) Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, e.g., group or family practice. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.
(5) Practicum in a VA or other clinical setting. A practicum experience may not be substituted for experience, as the practicum (field placement) is completed prior to graduation with a master's degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable mental health degree.

Grade Determinations:

Marriage and Family Therapist, GS-11 (Full Performance Level)

(a) Experience, Education and Licensure.
In addition to the basic requirements, the GS-11 full performance level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-master's degree experience in the field of marriage and family therapy work (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure in a State at the independent practice level. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (b) below.
OR,
In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable degree in mental health that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, and Psychiatry) may be substituted for the required one year of marriage and family therapy experience in a clinical setting. AND the candidate must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level and they must demonstrate the following KSA.

(b) Demonstrated KSAs. The candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

1. Skill to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members.
2. Ability to provide counseling and, or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, couples and families that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing the client system.
3. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Veterans and their families, colleagues, and other professionals in collaboration throughout treatment regarding clinical, ethical and legal issues and concerns.
4. Knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, regulations and VA policies affecting the practice of marriage and family therapy. This includes the ability to assist Veterans and their families in making informed decisions relevant to treatment to include limits of confidentiality.
5. Ability to provide orientation, training and consultation to new MFTs including clinical oversight of MFT graduate students, and/or provide clinical supervision to pre-licensure MFTs.
6. Skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and tracking quality improvements.

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.

Assignments. MFTs at the full performance level are licensed to independently practice marriage and family therapy. MFTs can provide general mental health services to Veterans within the ethics and guidelines of the professional standards. MFTs at this level formulate, implement, and re- evaluate treatment plans through continuous assessment identifying the Veteran's challenges, strengths, readiness to change, external influences and current events surrounding the origins and maintenance of the presenting issue, and interactional patterns within the client system. In the event that Advanced or Supervisory level assignments are not established/supportable, the incumbents at this level can be responsible for clinical supervision for licensing purposes only, provided they have an AAMFT approved supervisor credential.

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-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred based on Veterans' Preference.