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

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Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors (LPMHC) diagnose mental disorders, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders as appropriate, and provide case management and care coordination. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions. LPMHC consult with (CBOC) and Medical Center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. LPMHC may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities.

The LPMHC may serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System (VASLCHCS), VISN 19, or in the community as approved by their supervisor. The incumbent may provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the psychosocial treatment of Veterans, offering professional opinions based on experience, expertise, and role modeling effective LPMHC skills and practice. The LPMHC establishes and maintains ongoing educational programs for Veterans, community agencies, trainees, and staff in order to facilitate understanding of LPMHC practice and interventions specific to BHIP.

Clinical Responsibilities:

• The LPMHC provides functional assessment, triage, brief intervention, education and consultative services regarding a wide range of mental health and behavioral medicine concerns, on referral from PACT providers.
• Provides a full range of psychological services to patients in Primary Care and other medical settings.
• Provides brief, time-limited behavioral health/psychotherapeutic interventions to patients in the Primary Care setting. The LPMHC designs and implements effective treatment strategies based on clinical need, and incorporates new clinical procedures as indicated.
• Be available for mental health walk-in services, conducting initial triage and brief assessment of mental health needs, provide immediate crisis intervention and support as needed.
• Consults with Primary Care/ medical staff on a wide variety of mental health and behavioral health-related patient care issues.
• Facilitates patient referrals to specialty Mental Health Services programs when clinically indicated.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Educational Debt Reduction Program (EDRP): Approved (see below)
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized: This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. .

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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

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.

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: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors must be proficient in spoken & written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j
• Education: Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling & Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling & 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, & Family Counseling. CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from .
  • 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-183 series in VHA must hold a full, current, & unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis & treatment

Grade Determinations: GS-12 Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

• Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior LPMHCs must have five years of post-licensed experience 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.

GS-11 Assignment. This is the full performance grade level for LPMHCs. At this level they are licensed to independently practice professional counseling and to provide mental health services within the knowledge, theory, and training foundations of professional counseling. LPMHCs may be assigned to any VHA area, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. LPMHCs may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities.

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • 1. Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority of services needed and provide specialized treatment.
  • 2. Advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities for Veterans with complex needs. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling, or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial, and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans.
  • 3. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on data.
  • 4. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients, rendering professional opinions based on experience, expertise and role modeling effective clinical skills.
  • 5. Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications.
  • 6. Ability to engage in written and oral communication with leadership/staff and community stakeholders regarding policies, procedures, practice guidelines, and issues pertaining to the practice of the profession

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

Preferred Experience: Minimum two years of recent direct mental health service experience.

Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. The incumbent must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the incumbent or others. The incumbent must be able to pass VA requirements for operation of a government vehicle. Position may require walking throughout the clinic and/or Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams. Position may require travel to provide clinical services to Veterans in the community, clinics, medical centers, CBOC's, etc. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.