Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to US Public Citizens. Current, permanent Cheyenne VA Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs employees and other Federal Agencies and Health Professional Trainees please apply under announcement CBSU-12856336-26-OYM NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

The Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP) Lead Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) at the Cheyenne VA Health Care System (CVAHCS) is assigned to the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) / Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The CVAHCS MHRRTP operates 365 days a year with a maximum bed capacity for 10 veterans. Two separate programs of 8 weeks duration are offered, for those experiencing primary SUDs, and for those with PTSD requiring a residential level of care. CVAHCS serves over 28,000 Veterans each year, including 5,000 Veterans who are enrolled in mental health care.

The incumbent is an advanced practice clinician who is the primary lead LPMHC provider and subject matter expert within the MHRRTP. The incumbent utilizes advanced practice skills and judgment in providing assessment, diagnosis and treatment, case planning, and interdisciplinary care for Veterans experiencing complex mental illness who require a residential level of care. The incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges; treatment modalities include individual, group, and family psychotherapy, psychosocial and case management. The incumbent is an integral part of an interdisciplinary team, consisting of RN's, Psychologists, Social Workers, and Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors. The incumbent serves as a teacher/leader and role model for all staff, providing guidance as to priority of services and referral to specialty care based on the needs of Veteran residents. The incumbent is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. This position is highly complex and varied, and functions directly in some of the most sensitive clinical work that happens in the VA. Incumbent will also serve as a back-up for screening and assessment for Veterans referred to residential level of care and support the newly proposed centralized screening team for all VISN 19 RRTP beds.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides consultative services to other clinical and administrative staff, and to VA programs, focused on any aspect of the Veteran's care.
• Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions including individual therapy, group therapy, and psycho-education classes. Best practices, practice guidelines, and evidence-based treatment protocols are utilized to the extent feasible in all therapeutic interventions.
• Develops person-centered, culturally sensitive treatment plans to address mental health needs of patients and ensures care provided is of the highest quality with little oversite/supervision required.
• Conducts evaluations to aid in the differential diagnosis of complex cases.
• Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
• Provides supportive consultation in the development and utilization of Medical Center and community resources. Consults with providers on behavioral or treatment concerns related to Veteran treatment while on the MHRRTP. Acts as subject matter expert with substantial responsibility, consulting with providers of high-risk complex patients.
• Provides training to clinical and non-clinical staff in the Medical Center, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's), and community about Evidence Based Practices, continuity of care, treatment options, and resources.
• Provides crisis intervention, when indicated, including timely evaluation, assessment, and triage of at-risk Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs, evaluate risk, and initiate safety plan as appropriate.
• Serves on Interdisciplinary Treatment Team(s).
• May provide services through the use of Tele-Mental Health/Tele-Home technology
• Other Duties as Assigned

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Compressed/Flexible: May be available according to Agency Policy
Telework: Situational Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 61138-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

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.

Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12

Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex LPMHC experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior LPMHCs must have five years of post-licensed experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressive professional competency and expertise and be licensed to provide clinical supervision to trainees or unlicensed LPMHCs

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:
1. Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority of services needed and provide specialized treatment.
2. Advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities for Veterans with complex needs. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling, or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial, and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans.
3. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on data. 4. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the psychosocial treatment of patients, rendering professional opinions based on experience, expertise and role modeling effective clinical skills.
5. Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications.
6. Ability to engage in written and oral communication with leadership/staff and community stakeholders regarding policies, procedures, practice guidelines, and issues pertaining to the practice of the profession

Preferred Experience: None

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 the GS-12 level.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• Transcript

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Next steps