Summary The Oklahoma City VA Health Care System is hiring for one Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor for the Stillwater Community Based Outpatient Clinic. Responsibilities As a Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC), the incumbent in this position is licensed to independently practice professional counseling and provide mental health services within the knowledge, theory, and training foundations of professional counseling. Senior LPMHCs may be assigned to any VHA area, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. Senior LPMHCs may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities. Senior LPMHCs provide treatment to patients with complex needs including multiple mental health diagnoses, and numerous psychosocial issues, using independent judgment. LPMHCs at this level provide clinical consultation to less experienced staff which may include coordinating crisis situations. Senior LPMHCs will provide clinical supervision to LPMHC staff and/or LPMHC trainees, and may serve as the subject matter expert for the discipline. Senior LPMHCs develop behavioral health related training curriculum and often conduct trainings for clinical staff. LPMHCs model ethical and professional behaviors and standards to include multicultural awareness. Senior LPMHCs meet routinely with interprofessional team members and leadership to communicate about program and patient issues for in depth problem solving. Clinical Responsibilities: - Diagnoses mental disorders. - Treats Veterans with complex needs including multiple mental health diagnoses, and numerous psychosocial issues, using independent judgment, using a variety of modalities, including: individual, family and group counseling, triage/crisis management, and other interventions such as community-based interventions. Advanced psychotherapy is provided as needed. - Conducts initial intakes/biopsychosocial assessments and treatment planning in accordance with Joint Commission/VA requirements and service/clinic-level SOP. - Practices measurement-based care using the Collect, Share, Act model, in accordance with Joint Commission/VA requirements and service/clinic-level SOP. - Consults with OKC VA Health Care System staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. - Consults with referring provider/team and other OKC VA HCS mental health staff, as necessary, on a wide variety of patient care issues.- Participates in regularly scheduled Program/Clinic team meeting(s). - Evaluates and makes disposition of patients to treatment programs in the OKC VA Health Care System, as well as referral to community programs and vocational placement. Serves as a consultant to other staff in evaluating and assisting Veterans with complex vocational problems. Places consults for Veterans when clinically indicated. - Ensures documentation is completed timely in accordance with the facility medical bylaws. - Ensures coding is in accordance with the OMHSP MH Coding Guidelines. - Places RTCs in accordance with VHA directives and scheduling guidelines to ensure accurate patient appointment scheduling. - Obtains PMDB training in accordance with workplace setting per the annual Workplace Behavioral Risk Assessment. - Develops behavioral health related training curriculum and often conduct trainings for clinical staff. - Provides clinical consultation to less experienced staff. - Provides clinical supervision to unlicensed LPMHC staff and/or LPMHC trainees. - May serve as the subject matter expert for the discipline.- May be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities. - Assists with other activities as assigned by OKC VA Health Care System Management. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Functional Statement #:PD58307-A 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Education - Master's or doctoral degree in one of the following: 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 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. Licensure - Must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment. 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: 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. Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12 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 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 https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. This vacancy is being announced above the full performance level at the GS-12 level. Physical Requirements: The work for the position is sedentary. Physical requirements include some lifting/carrying (
