Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (SUD)

Veterans Health Administration • Johnson City, TN

11h

About The Position

The Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor provides advanced clinical services to the Substance Use Disorders BHIP/MAT clinics and is fully responsible for delivering effective care to Veterans with a wide range of substance use and co-occurring psychological disorders. Services include individual, group, and family psychotherapy; patient health education; referrals to adjunctive treatments; and aftercare planning and follow-up.

The counselor independently provides or coordinates screening, clinical assessment, counseling, therapy, and psychoeducational services in the Substance Use Disorders Outpatient Program. The position works with Veterans and multidisciplinary treatment teams to develop comprehensive treatment and aftercare plans, supports care across the continuum of stepped care, and coordinates referrals and community resources. Services and records must comply with applicable Joint Commission, CARF, VHA, medical center, and state and federal requirements.

The role also supports staffing across the IOP, MAT Clinic, and BHIP clinic, including urgent and crisis events, interdisciplinary coverage, program training, staff education, and service-improvement work. The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework may be available under agency policy; this is not a virtual position. Evening or weekend work may be required to meet patient-care needs.

Requirements

• Master's or doctoral degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling, a combined Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling program, or a related field from a CACREP-accredited program.
• Full, current, and unrestricted license to practice independently as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor.
• At least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• At least five years of post-licensed experience demonstrating advanced practice skills, judgment, progressive professional competency, and expertise.
• Licensure to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs.
• Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in specialized treatment of complex mental illness.
• Ability to incorporate multiple complex causes into differential diagnosis and treatment, including psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Ability to determine service priorities and provide specialized treatment.
• Advanced expertise in specialized interventions and treatment modalities for Veterans with complex needs, including counseling or psychotherapy and psychosocial or case-management interventions.
• Ability to coordinate specialized psychosocial services and programs.
• Ability to design system changes based on data.
• Ability to provide subject-matter consultation to colleagues and trainees and render professional opinions based on experience and expertise.
• Ability to teach and mentor staff and trainees and provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing with leadership, staff, and community stakeholders about policies, procedures, practice guidelines, and professional practice issues.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated VA appointment exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, and possess emotional and mental stability.
• Compliance with the seasonal influenza vaccination program and required background, security, and onboarding processes.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period if selected.

Responsibilities

• Provide or coordinate screening, clinical assessment, individual, group, family, and collateral counseling or therapy, and psychoeducational sessions for the Substance Use Disorders Outpatient Program.
• Provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy, patient health education, referrals to adjunctive treatments, and aftercare planning and follow-up.
• Refer Veterans to other agencies, organizations, community resources, or governmental resources as appropriate, and refer Veterans with more serious problems to appropriate treatment resources inside or outside the medical center.
• Serve as a liaison among treatment programs within Mental Health Service, providing education, counseling, and treatment recommendations according to program-specific criteria.
• Participate actively in the multidisciplinary SUD services team and provide therapeutic services along the continuum of stepped care.
• Collaborate with patients and treatment team members to develop comprehensive treatment plans based on psychosocial assessment findings and patient strengths and needs.
• Develop comprehensive aftercare plans to support continued recovery after program completion.
• Communicate and network with community and system referral sources.
• Provide staffing coverage for IOP, MAT Clinic, and BHIP clinic, including interdisciplinary coverage, response to urgent and crisis situations, and assigned program training functions.
• Document services in the CPRS computer program system in accordance with applicable accreditation, VHA, and medical center policies and procedures.
• Assist in monitoring record-keeping procedures for compliance with state and federal requirements and accrediting-body standards.
• Participate in Mental Health Service work groups, committees, and service-improvement activities as directed.
• Assist in training therapists in intervention techniques and participate in staff education efforts.
• Teach, mentor, and provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs, consistent with professional qualifications and role requirements.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package available to the employee and family, subject to position eligibility.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual for prior federal work or military service, if requested and approved before appointment.

What This Job Offers

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