Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor

Veterans Health Administration • Orland Park, IL

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor provides direct readjustment counseling, outreach, referral, and follow-up care coordination to eligible Veterans, service members, and family members within a Vet Center service area. The role serves people with varied military experiences and socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, and educational backgrounds, and works as part of a multidisciplinary team while providing expert clinical consultation to other clinicians and staff on complex psychosocial conditions and readjustment stress.

The counselor coordinates client care and supports Vet Center staff professional development. Services include individual, couples, group, and family counseling, with established expertise in bereavement services for surviving family members of active-duty Service members killed while on active military duty. The position also provides clinical consultation, staff development, and care coordination with community providers. The work schedule is 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with one evening per week and occasional weekend work. Telework and virtual work are not available.

Requirements

• Master's or doctoral degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling, a combination of those fields, or a related field from a CACREP-accredited program.
• Full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, including diagnosis and treatment.
• At least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• Five years of post-licensed experience demonstrating advanced practice skills, judgment, progressive professional competency, and expertise.
• Licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Advanced knowledge of theories and modalities used in specialized treatment of complex mental illness.
• Ability to incorporate multiple causes into differential diagnosis and treatment, including psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Ability to prioritize services and provide specialized treatment.
• Advanced skill in specialized interventions and treatment modalities for Veterans with complex needs, including individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced 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 on psychosocial treatment, using professional judgment, expertise, and effective clinical role modeling.
• Ability to teach and mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications.
• Ability to communicate in writing and orally with leadership, staff, and community stakeholders about policies, procedures, practice guidelines, and professional practice issues.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, subject to stated exceptions for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Must meet applicable background/security investigation and pre-employment requirements, including a physical examination and seasonal influenza vaccination.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period.

Responsibilities

• Screen eligible individuals, establish therapeutic relationships, complete readjustment counseling intake procedures, and assess risk for self-harm and psychosocial stressors.
• Develop and periodically update individualized readjustment counseling service plans, including therapeutic and psychosocial interventions and outcome measurements.
• Independently provide individual, couples, family, and group readjustment counseling.
• Consult with staff on crisis intervention strategies, including assessment, safety planning, and complex treatment planning using family systems theory and therapy.
• Connect Veterans with community services, resources, and opportunities to support independence, health, and well-being.
• Advise Vet Center outreach workers on clinical indicators and basic interviewing questions to help prospective clients transition to readjustment counseling services.
• Participate in clinical and administrative oversight during staff meetings as directed by the Vet Center Director.
• Provide clinical consultation to staff with clinical service responsibilities on assessment, service planning, and case coordination with community providers.
• Participate in staff meetings intended to promote team building and staff development.
• Provide bereavement services to surviving family members of active-duty Service members killed while on active military duty.
• Perform other duties appropriate to the grade, assignment, and scope of practice.

Benefits

• Eligible position for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), with reimbursement of up to $200,000 subject to eligibility, application, and program approval.
• Federal employee benefits package; specific benefits depend on position eligibility.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual for prior federal work or military service, subject to request and approval.

What This Job Offers

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