Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

Veterans Health Administration • Dayton, OH

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The incumbent is assigned as Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) in Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) who works at the interface between primary care (PC) and mental health care in an integrated care model.

Requirements

• 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 identification 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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 familial counseling interventions; demonstrates sensitivity to diversity and possesses multicultural counseling skills.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• Work is primarily performed in an office setting at the Dayton VA Medical Center.
• Work is mostly sedentary; however, the incumbent must follow appropriate safety procedures as there will be some periods of walking and may involve light lifting, turning, or moving hands, arms, feet, and legs to operate hand and foot controls.
• The position requires the use of office equipment such as computers, keyboards, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines.
• Visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity are required.
• The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders.
• The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations and able to shift priorities based on patient needs.
• May be exposed to infected patients and/or contaminated materials and will be required to take appropriate safety and protective measures.

Responsibilities

• Functional assessments based on 20-30-minute appointments to determine how the presenting problem is impacting the patient's functioning, what level of care is appropriate, what services the patient agreeable to, and teaching a new skill or strategy with which the Veteran can leave the clinic
• Triaging appropriately and efficiently to specialty mental health services, when applicable.
• Application of principles of population-based care; addressing behavioral health needs of the prime care population before the condition becomes chronic.
• Collaboration and consultation with the Veteran's Patient Aligned Care Team to address Veteran's physical and behavioral health needs as a team.
• Regular utilization of measurement based care (e.g., PHQ-9, GAD-7, ISI, etc.).
• Available for same-day warm-handoffs of PC patients.
• Brief behavioral health interventions (e.g., 1-6 20-30 minute sessions every 2-4 weeks for grief, adjustment disorder, depression, anxiety, weight management, insomnia) that are problem-focused and solution oriented.
• Crisis intervention.
• All other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level