Summary The selected Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor will be assigned to the Mental Health Service of the Orlando VA Healthcare System (OVHCS)- and will serve as the Program Coordinator for the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP). BHIP is a multidisciplinary outpatient program within the MH Service that provides evidenced based mental health services for veterans based on the psychiatric rehabilitation recovery model. Responsibilities AMENDED DUTIES TO REFLECT MORE ACCURATELY Some of the duties of this position include, but are not limited to; Will conduct comprehensive mental health assessments utilizing standardized tools and clinical interviews. Diagnose mental health conditions using DSM-5 criteria. Develop, implement, and monitor individualized treatment plans for Veterans with various mental health conditions. Provides evidence-based therapeutic interventions, including individual, group, and family therapy. Collaborate with an interdisciplinary treatment team to ensure holistic care. Provide consultation and education to BHIP staff and other healthcare providers on mental health issues and treatment plans. Maintains accurate and timely clinical documentation in accordance with VHA policies and procedures. Provides formal and informal consultation services for other staff members of the Mental Health Service, and for medical center staff on a wide range of issues related to mental health disorders. Adheres to service standards adhere to service standards regarding matters of timeliness, accuracy, and compliance with procedures and quantity of work produced. Responsible for developing and maintaining policies, procedures, and processes to implement the deployment of psychologists, social workers and counselors in the mental health service. Responsible for operation and management of key clinical, training, research, and administrative activities for the BHIP location, to include full responsibility for managing the day-to-day activities of the BHIP program. Has oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and deploy those resources in support of the program needs. Responsibility to ensure that mental health services in the BHIP location complies with all OVAHCS policies, VA directives and accreditation requirements. Develops and implements programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements, and monitors outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes. Implements strategies for improvement based on data analysis. Supervises and works closely with the BHIP Deputy Manager, had direct line of authority and is accountable for the clinical care and support services provided to Veterans in the BHIP program at a specific location. Delegates specific aspects of the functioning and management of the BHIP location to the Deputy Program Manager. Responsible for development and implementation of programs, policies, and procedures; oversight of administrative and programmatic resources; and monitoring of outcomes using a data-driven quality assurance process. Has broad responsibility for program accreditation and compliance. Consults with and serves as a resource for other professional staff concerning the need for the development of mental health services. Responsible for timely completion of all program evaluations and documents required by the Health Care System, VISN, and VACO, ensuring compliance with appropriate accrediting bodies (such as JCAHO) and monitoring entities (such as NEPEC), as appropriate. Serves on Health Care System, VISN, and/or National VA committees, workgroups, or task forces. Skill in making decisions affecting staff and other resources associated with the programs managed while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. Responsible to ensure the highest quality of mental health care provided to Veterans across all BHIP teams at that location. Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meets multiple deadlines. Skilled in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives, and ability to devise ways to adapt work operations to new and changing programs, staffing, and budget requirements, etc. is crucial. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations, the ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards. Ability to appropriately utilize, evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines and ability to guide staff in using these tools. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am to 4:30pm. However, the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis, based on the needs of the service and patient care. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Functional Statement: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor BHIP GS-0183-12 82571F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. 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. You may be required to serve a trial period. 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. 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). You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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. 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. 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. 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). All persons employed in VHA in as LPMHC on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level, or demoted within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. Grade Determinations: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience, Education, and Licensure: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must have been in a major specialty treatment program area such as, but not limited to, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), or other areas of equivalent scope and complexity. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Preferred Experience: Those candidates with prior supervisory, and BHIP experience are highly preferred. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary (1-2 hours) in nature and usually occurs within climate controlled clinical and administrative settings. Use of fingers may be required to operate computers. There may be occasional light lifting/carrying (15 pounds or less) requirements to relocate boxed materials from one area to another, equipment and room set-up, and ambulation related to physical inspections of the facilities clear speech, hearing, and emotional stability) and environmental factors. Education Must 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. 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/. Additional Information 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 Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. 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.
