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.

Basic Requirements:

• The basic requirements for employment as a LPMHC are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(11)
• To qualify for appointment as a LPMHC all applicants must: a
• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.)
• b
• 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
• c
• 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
• d
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
• e
• 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
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of the candidates
• Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12: (a) 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
• (b) Assignments
• 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 inter- professional team members and leadership to communicate about program and patient issues for in depth problem solving
• Senior LPMHCs collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and frequently serve as a liaison
• This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management
• This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation
• (c) 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
• Preferred Experience: Working in interdisciplinary teams, brief evidence-based interventions, and brief/focused assessments
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is 12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS12.