Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States 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 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
• NOTE: It is VHA policy that a LPMHC who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Preferred Experience: One year of post-master's experience as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor
• Preferred candidate will have experience with EBP specific to PTSD (CPT, EMDR, PE, etc)
• Grade Determinations: GS-9 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Entry Level) a) Experience, Education, and Licensure
• The entry level is used for LPMHCs with less than one year of post-master's degree experience or for LPMHCs who are graduates, not yet licensed at the independent practice level.GS-11 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Full Performance Level)(a) Experience, Education, and Licensure
• In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least 1 year of post-master's degree mental health counseling experience
• OR In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in mental health counseling, or a related field may be substituted for the required 1 year of professional mental health counseling experience
• GS-11 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Full Performance Level)(a) Experience, Education, and Licensure
• In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least 1 year of post-master's degree mental health counseling experience
• OR In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in mental health counseling, or a related field may be substituted for the required 1 year of professional mental health counseling experience
• References: VA Handbook 5005/50, part II, Appendix G43 For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09- to GS-11
• Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary.