Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.)
• Education
• 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 2 graduated from a CACREP accredited program
• Additional information may be obtained from http://www.cacrep.org/directory/
• 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
• Licensure
• 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
• Grandfather Provision: An LPMHC employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (4/3/2018) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-11) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting the full qualification requirements
• Grade Determinations: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-11 (Full Performance Level) Requirements: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have 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 and demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph below
• LPMHCs may provide clinical supervision over the clinical practice of an unlicensed LPMHC or LPMHC trainee
• Some state licenses do not license an individual to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs
• Please refer to specific state licensing laws regarding the requirements for providing clinical supervision
• 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 family counseling interventions
• 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Qualification Standard Preferred Experience: MH Experience - Treatment of Substance Use Disorder Experience The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11
• Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.