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Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Readjustment Counselor)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Readjustment Counseling Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Position is located at a Vet Center in the Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS). RCS provides readjustment counseling to eligible Veterans, active military Service members whose service was in support of combat operations, who suffered a military sexual trauma, provided direct emergent medical care or mortuary services to casualties of war, or who served as a member of an unmanned aerial crew that provided direct support to operations in a combat zone or are of hostility, and their families.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
11/29/2022 to 12/08/2022
Salary
$66,214 to - $86,074 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
San Juan, PR
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position for training/outreach events.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBFF-11730613-23-NMM
Control number
689937600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This job announcement is open to U.S. Citizens. Current VA/HPT and/or Federal employees should apply under CBFF-11730612-23-NMM

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Duties

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NOTE: Readjustment Counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker, Psychologist, 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.

The incumbent will be responsible for providing services to eligible individuals who are experiencing a variety of military related psychological and psychosocial problems. Incumbents must possess the knowledge and experience to independently implement psychotherapeutic modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to enhance the readjustment of Veterans, active duty Service members, and their families. Functions and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Intake screening and assessment: Complete all readjustment counseling intake procedures, including an assessment of risk for self-harm, military history and military related psychosocial stressors, and assess family readjustment stressors and document identified behaviors or symptoms.
  • Readjustment counseling goal setting and service planning: Develop and periodically update an individualized readjustment counseling service plan that reflects a course of therapeutic and psychosocial interventions, including identification of achievable goals and measurable outcomes.
  • Direct readjustment counseling service provision: Incorporate complex multiple causation in differential psychosocial assessment and direct service delivery to eligible Veterans, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnostic inferences within the clinical scope of practice.
  • Risk assessment and crisis intervention: Conduct timely assessment of Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs, evaluate risk, and initiate safety planning as appropriate.
  • Care coordination: Links the Veteran with other community services, resources, and opportunities to maximize the Veteran's independence, health, and well-being.
  • Coordinating readjustment counseling and outreach: Maintain active coordination with Vet Center outreach workers to ensure seamless referral to Vet Center services for those individuals engaged in the community at outreach events that may require follow-up readjustment counseling.
  • Team cohesion and coordination: Actively participate in staff meetings designed to promote team building and staff development.
  • Documentation/administrative responsibilities/consultation: Document all clinical interactions with eligible individuals and episodes of care coordination on their behalf as required by policy.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm; some evenings and weekends may be required based on the needs of the Vet Center.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor/ FS#000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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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.
  • 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).
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SPF)- This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The selective factor for this position is:

  • Must be proficient in in written and spoken Spanish.
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: 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-0101 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.

Grade Determinations:
GS-11 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) performing duties such as: engaging in intake and assessment, problem identification, diagnosis, treatment planning and implementation, continuum of care, evaluation and follow-up; using a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions; providing professional mental health counseling services; and must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level.

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
  1. Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation.
  2. Advanced knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counseling process which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining an effective counseling relationship.
  3. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the counseling process within various specialty areas, build on the foundation of competence through regular meetings and discussions to explain assignments, review progress of cases and confer about the counseling perspectives and orientation.
  4. Ability to provide complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill.
  5. Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced-based practices, screening, and psychosocial assessment.
  6. Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or familial counseling interventions; demonstrates sensitivity to diversity and possesses multicultural counseling skills.
  7. Ability to fully utilize the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention using professional counseling practices.
  8. Ability to develop and facilitate psychotherapy and psycho-education groups that include life skills, family support, and community integration. This may include evidence based psychotherapy.

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; and implementing treatment plans for combat Veterans/and their families. Spoken and written Spanish Language.

References: VA Handbook 5005-106, Part II, Appendix G43, dated April 3, 2018.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is at the GS-11.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. It may require some lifting (10-20 lbs.) occasionally. Reaching above shoulder; Frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day); Sitting (4-7 hours per day); Walking up to 6 hours per day); Standing (up to 8 hours per day); Infrequent climbing/descending of stairs; Some bending; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

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.

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.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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, résumé, 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.

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