Rehabilitation Counselor

Department of Veterans Affairs•Martinez, CA

34d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. This position serves as a Rehabilitation Counselor providing personal adjustment counseling, therapeutic rehabilitation interventions, and case coordination services. They use evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities to aid Veterans with severe disabilities, such as physical, psychosocial, psychological, or neurological barriers, integrate successfully into the community and serves Veterans who have myriad barriers to overcome and achieve competitive employment, educational, and independent living goals.

Responsibilities

Provide a variety of professional rehabilitation counseling services such as personal adjustment counseling, therapeutic rehabilitation interventions and case coordination services, utilizing evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities and professional counseling practices to aid Veterans with severe disabilities in achieving competitive employment and educational and independent living goals.
Conduct biopsychosocial assessments using medical records, pertinent disability documentation, observation and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate personal, vocational, and educational histories.
Selects, administers, and interprets vocational and other psychometric instruments to evaluate abilities, transferrable skills, functional capacity, labor market analyses, aptitudes, interests, values, preferences, and overall work resilience and synthesize into an interpretive data report.
Administers Measurement Based Care instrument to track progress throughout treatment and adjust goals and services as needed.
Consult with interdisciplinary teams to enhance coordination of care, ensure medical clearance, and provide for optimal timing of further interventions.
Completes various quality assurance and improvement activities to improve services provided.
Determine clinical need for and capacity to benefit from therapeutic and rehabilitation services to include work restoration/resilience treatment, transitional work placement and/or competitive employment, assistive technology, financial benefits counseling and potential benefits protections.
Develop patient-centered treatment plans utilizing Specific, Measurable, agreed upon, Realistic, and Time-based (SMART) goals and provides ongoing assessment of Veteran's progress.
Procures and manages transitional work agreements from community, state, and federal agencies.
Monitors worksite compliance with agreements to ensure Veterans are appropriately trained and evaluated consistent with industry standards.
Provide psychoeducational and/or psychotherapeutic groups to facilitate effective job search skills, employer-desired soft skills, work and life skills fostering independence and recovery.
Provides job development, customized employment, job carving, job coaching, job accommodation, advocacy, and adaptation services to both Veterans with severe disabilities and to educate and support employers.
Provide disability education and program-specific training to staff and stakeholders.
Provides supervision to graduate level rehabilitation counseling students from an accredited affiliated educational institution, including educational experiences, and in-service education for trainees, rehabilitation staff, and other disciplines.
Provides professional recommendations and guidance regarding the career development processes and job analysis methodology to determine essential functions of jobs, worksite modifications and/or alternative vocational goals given the work history and residual functional capacities of individuals with disabilities.
Serves or chairs task groups or administrative committees on behalf of VHA Voc. Rehab Service.
Participates in professional peer review and individual case review and that of other professional disciplines as appropriate.
Other related duties as assigned.