Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC)

Clarification from the agency

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

Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) functions as a team member for the outpatient Mental Health Clinic at the Junction City CBOC. The incumbent provides program screenings and a full range of psychosocial assessments for diagnosis and treatment planning, evidence and recovery-based groups and individual/couple/family psychotherapy, client centered mental health recovery plans, care
management, and other clinical services. The incumbent is assigned a tour of duty compatible with the needs of the program and may include weekends and holidays; day and evening tours.

Duties to include:
Clinical Responsibilities:

1.Completes thorough psychosocial assessments and includes pertinent information in all the required areas of functioning in order to determine appropriate diagnoses and other treatment related conclusions.
2. Provides a current DSM diagnosis to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and/or their families.
3. Provides emergency/crisis interventions that are provided to Veterans in an effort to stabilize. Engages in rapid assessments and develops crisis management plans.
4. Provides psychotherapy as individual, group and/or family interventions when clinically indicated/appropriate and when of therapeutic benefit to the recipients.
5. Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning, compliance with treatment, and discharge planning.
6. Possesses a thorough knowledge in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.
8. Facilitates discharge planning through collaboration with Veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members.
9. Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits and specialty programs, and advance directives.
10. Provides care management services to Veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care.
11. Regularly and effectively participates in multidisciplinary team meetings.

Administrative Responsibilities:

1.Assists LPMHC Program Manager (or related) and Behavioral Health Service Line Manager (BHSLM). in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers.
2. May assist the Chief of Psychology and BHSLM in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.
3. Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services.
4. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
5. Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
6. Complies with and participates in peer review, Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE), Focused Professional Practice Evaluations (FPPE), and/or recommendations from the Professional Standards Board (PSB).
7. Attends and participate in administrative and informational meetings held by the LMFT Program Manager, Mental Health Clinic Program Manager, Assistant Chief of Psychology, and the Chief of Behavioral Health, and other meetings as assigned to participate.
8. Attends regular Psychology Service staff meetings, Medical staff meetings, and Behavioral Health Service Line staff meetings.

Other Responsibilities:

1. May serve on Medical Center or healthcare system, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces.
2. May represent the Medical Center at professional community group/events and committees, in conferences/meetings with higher ranking managers, supervisors, and staff from other disciplines or work units, and/or with representatives of local public interest groups, congressional district offices and employees of State and local governments.
3. May prepare Issue Briefs and responses to Congressional inquiries as needed.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000 Licensed Professonal Mental Health Counselor
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact VISN15EDRP@va.gov , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.
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 dentification 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. 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.
• English Language Proficiency. LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and writtenEnglish in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A,
  paragraph 3.j.

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 degreemental health counseling experience (VA or non-VA experience) and must belicensed to practice at the independent practice level and demonstrate the KSAs insubparagraph (c) below. LPMHCs may provide clinical supervision over the clinicalpractice of an unlicensed LPMHC or LPMHC trainee. Some state licenses do notlicense an individual to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensedLPMHCs. Please refer to specific state licensing laws regarding the requirementsfor providing clinical supervision.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAsfor the GS-9 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

1.Ability to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation fortreatment planning and implementation.

2.Advanced knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counselingprocess which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining aneffective counseling relationship.

3.Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on thecounseling process within various specialty areas, build on the foundation ofcompetence through regular meetings and discussions to explain assignments,review progress of cases and confer about the counseling perspectives andorientation.

4.Ability to provide complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who arein psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill.

5.Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with thepatient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced- basedpractices, screening, and psychosocial assessment.

6.Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or familial counselinginterventions; demonstrates sensitivity to diversity and possesses multiculturalcounseling skills.

7.Ability to fully utilize the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation oftreatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention usingprofessional counseling practices.

8.Ability to develop and facilitate psychotherapy and psycho- education groupsthat include life skills, family support, and community integration. This mayinclude evidence based psychotherapy.

Preferred Experience:

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit .

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement 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 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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit .