Senior Social Worker-Psychosocial Rehabilitation Recovery Center

Veterans Health Administration • Texas City, TX

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Social Worker serves in the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Recovery Center (PRRC) at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. The role provides services to Veterans using a psychiatric rehabilitation recovery model, including rehabilitation and recovery services for Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI), collaboration and advocacy with Veterans and their families, and staff education and training to support a transition from maintenance-based treatment to a recovery-oriented rehabilitation model.

In addition to direct patient care, the Senior Social Worker promotes the development, implementation, and maintenance of effective and efficient psychosocial rehabilitation services. The position performs case finding, outreach, screening, intake, psychosocial assessment, and working diagnosis functions; identifies high-risk patients and provides case management; provides crisis intervention; coordinates family conferences; and serves as a liaison to family members. The social worker establishes therapeutic relationships and independently provides individual, group, and family counseling and therapy to Veterans and families experiencing psychiatric, medical, and social problems. The position also consults with staff about Veterans’ psychosocial needs and how psychosocial problems affect health care and treatment adherence, and facilitates referrals based on Veterans’ needs and eligibility.

The position is full-time and has a Monday–Friday schedule of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., subject to change based on facility needs. It is performed in an office/clinic setting and is not virtual or telework eligible. The position is at the GS-12 level. EDRP may be available to eligible applicants, subject to program approval and other requirements.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); a doctoral degree cannot substitute for the master’s degree.
• State licensure or certification to independently practice social work at the master’s degree level.
• At least two years of experience after advanced practice clinical licensure in a specialized area of social work practice, including one year equivalent to the GS-11 level.
• Advanced practice-level state license or certification, including an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless covered by the stated grandfathering provisions; California licenses must meet the stated clinical examination condition.
• Ability to provide supervision for licensure.
• Skill in specialized interventions and treatment modalities, including individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced psychosocial or case management.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Knowledge of developing and implementing methods to measure the effectiveness of social work practice and services, using outcome evaluations to improve treatment and design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students and model effective social work practice.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge and write policies, procedures, or practice guidelines for the service area.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Valid, unrestricted state driver’s license, ability to independently operate a Government vehicle, and a clean driving record report.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, subject to the stated exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Must meet applicable background/security investigation, onboarding, pre-employment physical examination, identification, and influenza vaccination requirements.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, as applicable.

Nice To Haves

• Training and/or experience delivering evidence-based psychotherapies, including CBT, ACT, DBT, MI, CPT, or EMDR.
• Experience working with the seriously mentally ill (SMI) population.
• Experience working as part of an interdisciplinary team.
• Certification or post-master’s training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university in a specialty area, including a defined curriculum or course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Conduct case finding, outreach, screenings, initial intake, detailed psychosocial assessments, and establish working diagnoses.
• Identify high-risk patients and provide case management services.
• Provide crisis intervention that addresses underlying causes as well as presenting concerns.
• Coordinate family conferences and serve as a liaison to family members.
• Establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families.
• Independently provide individual, group, and family counseling and therapy to patients and families experiencing psychiatric, medical, and social problems.
• Consult with other staff regarding Veterans’ psychosocial needs and the effects of psychosocial problems on health care and treatment-plan adherence.
• Facilitate referrals based on Veterans’ needs and eligibility.
• Promote the development, implementation, and maintenance of effective and efficient psychosocial rehabilitation services.
• Collaborate with and advocate for Veterans with serious mental illness and their family members.
• Educate and train staff, in conjunction with other VA professionals, to promote recovery-oriented rehabilitation services.
• Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) student loan payment reimbursement, subject to individual eligibility and program approval, with awards up to $200,000 and eligibility periods of one to five years.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered based on qualifications or VA needs.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including annual leave, sick leave, and 11 paid Federal holidays.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment, in connection with birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Child care subsidy may be available after 60 days of employment to eligible full-time employees, subject to income and other limits.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting, and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

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