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. 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: 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. GS-12 LPMHC (Program Coordinator) Requirements: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-12 you must possess at least 1 year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade which demonstrates the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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. 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. 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. Preferred Experience: Background in Suicide Prevention practice. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve active listening, reading, observing and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, walking, speaking, bending, carrying light items such as paper, books, small parts, writing reports, writing clinical notes, using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, photocopy machines, and possibly driving an automobile. Some work is performed in a clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to the communicable disease common of the homeless population. Strenuous physical activity is not required. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders; Emotional and Mental Stability: The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment.
Description of Assigned Duties The Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) will serve to facilitate implementation of suicide prevention strategies within the medical center to help ensure that all appropriate measures are being taken to prevent suicide in our patient population. Activities will include support for the identification of Veterans at high risk; coordinating enhanced care when needed. Their health care and psychosocial problems and needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. The incumbent facilitates efficient and appropriate delivery of Mental Health Services across episodes of care within the Medical Center and Community-based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). The incumbent works to plan, develop, and implements, and evaluates the facility Suicide Prevention Program to ensure continual quality improvement and excellence in customer service. The work affects a wide range of agency activities and operations. It directly affects the health and well-being of the patients served and relationships with community organizations and stakeholders. The Suicide Prevention Coordinator has programmatic responsibility and responsibility for overseeing daily operation of the Suicide Prevention Program. The work of this position is highly complex, involving a combination of mental health administrative skills and intensive clinical services both of which require the exercise of mature professional judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of professional abilities. The incumbent is able to provide clinical services in serious and complicated cases, and carries full professional responsibility for those cases presenting with a wide range of psychosocial and environmental problems. Clinical services are provided as time and resources allow; administrative programmatic responsibilities are primary. Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties The incumbent plans, develops, implements and oversees all components of the Suicide Prevention Program. Duties include, but are not limited to: Program Management Responsible for tracking and reporting all suicide attempts and completions at their facility, including the submission of a monthly report to the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Responsible for managing and overseeing the annual aggregate suicide Root Cause Analyses (RCA's) for suicide completions and attempts. Develop partnerships with their facility Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Coordinators, Patient Safety Managers (PSM), Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Coordinators, local Vet Center staff, residential care teams and local mental health teams. This partnership is to assure that patients are assessed and evaluated for suicide risk as appropriate and preventative interventions are in place. Establishes performance and outcome standards for the facility Suicide Prevention Program that promote quality and efficiency of services in coordination with the overall goals of the medical center and those of the VISN and VA Central Office. Oversight of Care Coordination The Suicide Prevention Coordinator is responsible for overseeing daily job functions of the Suicide Prevention Program. Monitors caseload and the advocacy services provided to high risk for suicide Veterans. Provides follow up on consults (within 24 business hours) received from the VA Suicide Hotline to assure timely access to care and follow-up for patients in crisis. When an appointment is needed, and when possible, the SPC should meet the Veteran at the door to make sure they are seen and evaluated in a timely manner. When needed, the SPC assists with and expedites Veteran enrollment into the VA. Ensures contact is made with Veterans who have been identified as surviving an attempt or who are identified as being high risk. Personal contact will be made with the Veteran and the SPC will establish US mail contact with him/her in order to provide an "enhanced care" model of prevention which maintains communication with the Veteran. Patient, Stakeholders, and Staff Education Provides Operation S.A.V.E. training or other approved "gatekeeper" training, to all non-clinical staff that have patient contact. Responsible for the delivery of other training programs at the site by request of the facility. Responsible for the delivery of the community version of suicide prevention "gatekeeper" training to community organizations that have contact with Veterans. All other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: FT, M-F 8am - 4:30pm Telework: Ah hoc only as determined by agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.