Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor - (LPMHC/BHIP)

USAJOBS

place Shelbyville, 46176

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Counseling, Psychiatry, Other Behavioral, Mental, or Healthcare Field

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Internship, Full-Time, Supervision

local_atm $62297.0 USD/YEAR

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English

Summary

The MH Clinic Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) provides counseling and therapy services to Veterans receiving care at the Shelbyville CBOC. In collaboration with the BHIP LPMHC evaluates the Veteran's presenting psychosocial problems and facilitates access to the resources that can most appropriately minimize the Veteran's psychosocial stressors.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

The Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Staff, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) provides counseling and therapy services to Veterans receiving care in the outpatient Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program.

Clinical Responsibilities:

Provides evidence-based counseling and/or psychotherapy services to individuals, couples, and families in collaboration with multidisciplinary BHIP staff to serve Veterans as needed or assigned.
Provides group counseling services in collaboration with multidisciplinary mental health staff for all Veterans seeking substance use disorder and mental health treatment.
Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
Willingly accepts additional and special assignments that are necessary to meet program goals or Veteran needs.
Completes all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system in a timely and accurate manner, as appropriate.

Other Significant Responsibilities:

May serve on assigned mental health committees or task forces.
Represents the Medical Center at professional/program community group/events and committees as Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program representative.
Participates in ongoing performance improvement initiatives within their assigned Mental Health track.

Functions: Screening/Assessment - In conjunction with the interdisciplinary medical team, the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program LMHC screens and assesses the Veteran's biopsychosocial needs and barriers in order to facilitate his or her access to appropriate VA and community resources. Through collaborative relationships with the Veteran, his or her family/caregiver and other VA programs and VA staff, the BHIP Staff LMHC coordinates the gathering of information vital to the process of setting appropriate treatment goals and time frames for achieving those goals. Assessment information, comprising the Psychiatry Assessment Template includes, among other issues:

Marital/family/social status
Psychiatric and substance use history
Employment/educational/financial status
Use of entitlement programs
Legal problems/issues
Impact of medical problems on psychosocial functioning
Strengths/Limitations
Military history (especially as it pertains to PTSD)

Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - From screening/assessment information, in coordination with the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program treatment team, the Veteran and his/her family, the BHIP Staff LMHC determines realistic goals with the Veteran, including such factors as:

Problems
Goals
Objectives
Specific concrete interventions
Treatment plans are written utilizing the MHTP software

Work Schedule:

Full Time
0730-1600 or 0800-1630

Telework: In accordance with VA Policy and at supervisors discretion (Ad-hoc)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Functional Statement: 92041-0
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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
English Language Proficiency
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.
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.
- For grade levels at or above the full performance level, the candidate must be licensed

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

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 degree mental health counseling experience (VA or non-VA experience) and must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level, and demonstrate the KSA's below. LPMHCs may provide clinical supervision over the clinical practice of an unlicensed LPMHC or LPMHC trainee
- Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities - In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-9 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  - 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 counseling perspectives and orientation.
  - Ability to provide complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill.
  - Ability to establish goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced- based practices, screening, and psychosocial assessment.
  - Ability to use a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions.
  - 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.
  - 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: Incumbent must have experience doing individual therapy with adult clients.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

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

Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the position involve standard office requirements such as using the telephone, retrieving files, writing reports, data entry and maintenance of computer databases, etc. Work is typically performed sitting at a desk and using a computer. This position may require occasional travel. The position requires periods of walking, standing, sitting and bending.

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: . 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: .

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit at .

Whole Health Statement
VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (VISN 10) 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.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. .

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Required Documents

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

Resume
Transcript

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.
Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal Employee.

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
Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.
Other (2)
Other (3)
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 .

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 05/14/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click .

To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

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Agency contact information

Robert Wheaton

Phone
Email

Address: .

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service.
HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students.
HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.

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