Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor-Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI)

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.

Duties

• This position is in the VA Orlando Healthcare System (VAOHCS) which provides a state-of-the-art continuum of services, education and resources to Veterans and caregivers with complex needs. The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) Senior Counselor will work within Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) to assist in the delivery of evidence-based care for primary care patients identified with a variety of emotional and psychiatric problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, and alcohol misuse. Major duties include but are not limited to: Serves as the LPMHC Senior Counselor on an interdisciplinary team integrated within Primary Care, emphasizing coordinated mental health services. Conducts a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate for primary care, including assessment of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive concerns. Delivers psychological interventions aligned with training and best practices, with emphasis on brief, evidence-based treatments effective in primary care settings. Facilitates patient and family education tailored to primary care needs and specific mental or behavioral health concerns. Offers consultation to primary care providers to strengthen their efforts in reducing health-risk behaviors and promoting preventive care. Supports PCP decision-making, reinforcing provider-patient relationships and enhancing treatment effectiveness. Leads implementation of the integrated care and collaborative practice model, ensuring patients remain with their PCP for comprehensive care whenever clinically appropriate. Provides clinical supervision to LPMHC staff and/or LPMHC trainees and may be asked to develop behavioral health related training curriculum and often conduct trainings for clinical staff. Assumes responsibility of team building, as needed. Contributes to program monitoring and outcome evaluation to improve population health outcomes across general and disease-specific primary care groups (e.g., Diabetes, Hepatitis-C, Hypertension, COPD). Maintains up-to-date knowledge of new developments in PCMHI. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00AM-4:30PM Telework: Ad-hoc/Situational-Occasional, Non-routine Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 82727F EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN8CCOE@va.gov,, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

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: 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: LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j. Education-Documentation Submitted: 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-Documentation Submitted: 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. Loss of Licensure: Once licensed, LPMHCs must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted license to independently practice mental health counseling, which includes diagnosis and treatment. Loss of licensure will result in removal from the GS-0183 LPMHC occupation and may result in termination of employment. Grandfather Provision: An LPMHC employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (4/3/2018) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-11) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting the full qualification requirements. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. GS-12 Senior LPMHC Experience Requirements: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, you must possess: A minimum of 5 years of post-licensed experience (with at least 1 year equivalent to the GS-11 grade level) that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise and be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs, AND; Experience that Demonstrates the following GS-11 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities? Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation. Advanced knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counseling process which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining an effective counseling relationship. 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 co…

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/.