Marriage and Family Therapist (Clinical Triage Coordinator)

Full Job Description

The Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) is assigned as a member of the Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Program with the Behavioral Health Lab at CMCVAMC.

Core functions of the MFT within PCMHI include assessing and triaging patient needs, assisting in connecting veterans to the appropriate level of care, and delivering evidence-based protocols for Care Management, Referral Management, Watchful Waiting, and Medication Monitoring, as well as conduct Suicide Risk Evaluations.

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: Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.) Education.

Candidates must meet one of the following: Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE, Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution, OR, Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in a comparable mental health degree (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, and Psychiatry) that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession.

Licensure.

Persons hired or reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0182 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted MFT license to independently practice marriage and family therapy in a State.

Exception: The Secretary, or his/her designee, may waive the licensure requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of State prerequisites for licensure examinations for a period not to exceed three years from the date of employment on the condition that MFTs appointed on this basis provide care only under the supervision of a fully licensed MFT with an AAMFT approved license.

English Language Proficiency. MFTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3j.

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 above for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level for each candidate.

Marriage and Family Therapist, GS-9 (Entry Level) Experience, Education and Licensure.

The entry level grade is used for non licensed MFTs or for MFTs (master's or doctoral level) who are graduates not yet licensed at the independent practice (Journey) level.

Unlicensed MFTs at the GS-9 grade level have completed the required education listed in paragraph 3b above, and are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure.

In addition, the candidates must demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) in subparagraph (b) below. Demonstrated KSAs.

In addition to meeting the KSAs for GS-9 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Knowledge of human development throughout the lifespan, interventions based on research and family systems theory and therapy, formal diagnostic criteria, risk assessment, evidence-based practice and assessment tools.

Ability to assess, with supervision, the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members.

Knowledge to formulate, implement, and re-evaluate a treatment plan through continuous assessment identifying the Veteran's challenges, strengths, readiness to change, external influences and current events surrounding the origins and maintenance of the presenting issue, and interactional patterns within the client system.

Ability to provide counseling and, or psychotherapy services, under supervision, to individuals, groups, couples and families in a manner that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing of the client system.

Basic knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of marriage and family therapy.

Ability to draft documents, manage data, maintain accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and track quality improvements.

Marriage and Family Therapist, GS-11 (Full Performance Level) Experience, Education and Licensure.

In addition to the basic requirements, the GS-11 full performance level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-master's degree experience in the field of marriage and family therapy work (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure in a State at the independent practice level.

In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (b) below.

OR, In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy or comparable degree in mental health that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession (Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, and Psychiatry) may be substituted for the required one year of marriage and family therapy experience in a clinical setting.

AND the candidate must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level and they must demonstrate the following KSA Demonstrated KSAs.

In addition to meeting the KSAs for GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: Skill to independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members.

Ability to provide counseling and, or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, couples and families that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing the client system.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Veterans and their families, colleagues, and other professionals in collaboration throughout treatment regarding clinical, ethical and legal issues and concerns.

Knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, regulations and VA policies affecting the practice of marriage and family therapy.

This includes the ability to assist Veterans and their families in making informed decisions relevant to treatment to include limits of confidentiality.

Ability to provide orientation, training and consultation to new MFTs including clinical oversight of MFT graduate students, and/or provide clinical supervision to pre-licensure MFTs.

Skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and tracking quality improvements.

Reference: 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-9 to GS-11. Major Duties:

Duties include but not limited to: Assessment: - Collects information from the medical record to inform triage process - Uses standardized assessment measures to inform disposition to receive care within PCMHI or specialty mental health clinics.

- Discusses disposition options with multidisciplinary team members and coordinates implementation of treatment recommendation.

- Supports the team of health technicians by completing standardized assessment of suicide risk, when indicated, in accordance with the VA Suicide Risk Identification Strategy - Conducts algorithm-driven clinical monitoring programs, including Watchful Waiting, which monitors patients with subsyndromal depressive symptoms to assess for worsening of symptoms and desire for engagement in treatment, and Medication Monitoring, which monitors patients' response to newly prescribed antidepressant medications to identify problems early and intervene early as indicated.

Documentation: - Maintains clinical records and documentation, ensuring regulatory compliance and compliance with Good Clinical Practices.

- Maintains responsibility for the routine use of the Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL) software, working under the guidance of the supervisor or the Team Lead or designee.

This includes monitoring patients in PCMHI, running reports, and maintaining data.

- Documents patients' responses to treatment in a manner that facilitates the use of this information by other members of the interdisciplinary team.

Intervention: - Provides brief, solution-focused psychotherapy as well as crisis intervention.

- Provides education to Veterans and follows up with them (via phone, video, or in-person) on treatment recommendations and need for further services.

- Maintains awareness and skill with new treatment techniques and evidence based practices.

Program Development: - Takes a supportive role in the administrative/clinical functions of the program such as quality assurance, policy and procedure development, program planning, preparation of reports, and other duties as assigned.

- Actively participates in BHL or BH committees; provides training to Medical Center and BHL staff through case review conferences, BHL in-service programs, and medical education presentations.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0800-1630 Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized