Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor - Mental Health Process Improvement and Analytics

Full Job Description

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.

You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.

Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency.

In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.

Education - Master's or doctoral degree in one of the following: 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 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling.

Licensure - Must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment.

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).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade.

The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade.

Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience, Education, and Licensure.

In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.

Experience must have been in a major specialty treatment program area such as, but not limited to, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), or other areas of equivalent scope and complexity.

Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Assignments.

LPMHC Program Coordinators are administratively responsible for a clinical program and provide treatment to patients in a major specialty.

They manage the daily operations of the program, develop policies and procedures, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use.

They may supervise unlicensed graduate LPMHCs and may administratively manage any employees assigned to their program. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: In depth knowledge of the program coordinated, and demonstrated knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and or practice guidelines for the program.

Ability to make key decisions in the hiring and identification of top candidates.

Ability to provide leadership in facilitating the process of coordinating program consults, assessments, admissions, care assignments and discharges.

Ability to provide subject matter consultation to other colleagues and trainees within the field of counseling working on an interdisciplinary team.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

This vacancy is being announced above the full performance level at a GS-12.

Physical Requirements: The Incumbent must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the incumbent or others.

May carry and lift items weighing up to 20 pounds. Major Duties:

Duties and skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to: Administrative & Supervisory Responsibilities: Oversee performance improvement, clinical quality, data analytics, and national compliance within the Mental Health Service (MHS.) Develops and monitors key performance indicators for mental health operations.

Develops and disseminates dashboards, data reports, standard operating procedures, standard work, trainings, presentations, websites/SharePoint sites, and other resources/tools to empower staff towards performance and quality improvement.

Supports MH SAIL Committee and facilitates/attends committee workgroups responsible for improving access to care, continuity of care, and experience of care related to Mental Health SAIL measures.

Represents MHS in facility, VISN, and VACO performance improvement and quality forums. Completes suspense's as needed related to mental health analytics and clinical improvement.

Facilitate systematic process improvement efforts, such as PDSA, Lean, or other methodologies, to improve MHS performance on key performance indicators related to performance and quality (e.g., MH SAIL, productivity, group practice management operations, book ability, patient experience, etc.) Collaborate with MHS staff, facility leadership, and leadership and staff from other services to design, measure, and execute clinical best practices.

Consults with MHS supervisors on execution of programmatic requirements, managing change management, and monitoring performance related to program requirements.

Research/Program Evaluation Lead performance improvement projects and organize for presentation/dissemination.

Present performance improvement research in local, VISN, VACO, and other relevant forums Pursue opportunities for funding or positions relevant to performance improvement efforts Facilitate staff engagement in quality improvement research opportunities.

Oversee process improvement workgroups and program evaluations within the healthcare system Clinical Responsibilities Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and using the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care.

Psychological/Diagnostic Assessment - conducting clinical interviews resulting in diagnoses. Consults with clinical staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.

Conducts treatment planning and referrals to various programs within Mental Health Service and provision of return appointments for follow-up.

Conducts psychotherapy to include time-limited and limited, longer-term supportive psychotherapy Assessment and treatment services in an outpatient clinic setting to include group and individual therapy.

Assessing for safety (danger to self, others, grave disability) and determining need for psychiatric hospitalization.

Coordinating referrals to various programs within Mental Health Service and establishing return appointments for follow-up.

Completes consults in a timely manner, closes clinical encounters, and writes return to clinic orders. Returns patient phone calls and provides guidance to patients on treatment options.

Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 436-611500 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Contact rita.owens@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized