Marriage and Family Therapist-Mental Health-Outpatient-Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program

Description:

The Veterans Health Administration, VHA, is currently recruiting for one GS 9 target 11 as a Marriage Family Therapist, a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor or Social Worker to work in the Mental Health-Outpatient-Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program.

Requirements:

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: U. S. Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it's not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance w/ VA Policy English Language Proficiency. Applicants must be proficient in spoken & written English Education: Candidates must meet one of the following: (1) Hold a master's or doctoral degree in marriage & family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE OR (2) Hold a master's or doctoral degree in marriage & family therapy from a MFT program from a regionally accredited institution OR (3)Hold a master's or doctoral degree in a comparable mental health degree Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, Social Work, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology & Psychiatry that meets current VA qualification standards of that profession Licensure. Persons hired/reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0182 series in VHA must hold a full, current & unrestricted MFT license to independently practice marriage & family therapy in a State

Exception: The Secretary, or his/her designee, may waive licensure requirements for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of State prerequisites for licensure examinations not to exceed 3 years from employment start date on the condition that MFTs appointed on this basis provide care only under supervision of a fully licensed MFT w/ an AAMFT approved license. Non-licensed MFTs who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given an appointment as an MFT under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3). This exception only applies at entry grade GS-9 levels. Candidate must be licensed for grades at/above full performance levels

(1) MFTs that aren't licensed when appointed must become licensed at independent Journey levels w/in 3 years of MFT appointment. Most States require 2 years of post-graduate MFT experience as a pre-requisite to taking licensure examination; VHA allow MFTs 1 additional year to pass licensure exam

(2) It's VHA policy that MFTs who don't have a license that allow independent practice must be clinically supervised by AAMFT approved licensed MFT at/above journey level who's a VA staff member & who's access to the electronic health record

Failure to Obtain License. In all cases, unlicensed MFTs must actively pursue meeting State prerequisites for licensure starting from appointment date. Upon appointment, Human Resource Officer provides unlicensed MFTs w/ written requirements for licensure, the date by which the license must be obtained & consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to obtain a license by the prescribed date results in removal from the GS-0182 MFT series & may result in employment termination

Loss of Licensure. Once licensed, MFTs must maintain a full, current/unrestricted license to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure results in removal from the GS-0182 MFT series & may result in employment termination

Grandfathering Provision Persons employed in VHA as a MFT on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for grade held, including positive education that's part of basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who don't meet all basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
(1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to & including full performance, journey level, demoted, but can't be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions
(2) MFTs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard can't have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on temporary/permanent basis, until they fully meet the standard's basic requirements(3) Employees who are retained as MFTs under this provision & subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status & must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry as a MFT

Grade Determination Requirements:

In addition to basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining a candidate's grade

GS-9

Experience, Education and Licensure

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 above & are working towards completing their license prerequisites

AND

In addition, candidates must demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, KSAs below:

1) Knowledge of human development throughout lifespan, interventions based on research & family systems theory/therapy, formal diagnostic criteria, risk assessment, evidence-based practice & assessment tools
2) Ability to assess, w/ supervision, the psychosocial functioning & needs of Veterans/family members
3) Knowledge to formulate, implement & re-evaluate treatment plans through continuous assessment identifying Veteran's challenges, strengths, readiness to change, external influences & current events surrounding origins/maintenance of presenting issues & interactional patterns w/in the client system
4) Ability to provide counseling &/or psychotherapy services, under supervision, to individuals, groups, couples/families in culturally competent manner that facilitates change through client system restructuring/reorganizing
5) Basic knowledge/understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes & regulations affecting professional practice of marriage/family therapy
6) Ability to draft documents, manage data, maintain accurate, timely & thorough clinical documentation & track quality improvements

GS-11

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.

AND

In addition, candidates must demonstrate KSAs below:

OR

In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in marriage & 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 & Psychiatry, may be substituted for the required one year of marriage & family therapy experience in a clinical setting

AND

Candidates must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level

AND

Must demonstrate the following KSAs

1) Skill to independently assess psychosocial functioning & Veterans & family member
2) Ability to provide counseling &/or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, couples & families in a culturally competent manner that facilitates change through restructuring/reorganizing client system
3) Ability to establish/maintain effective working relationships w/ Veterans/their families, colleagues & other professionals in collaboration throughout treatment regarding clinical, ethical & legal issues/concerns
4) Knowledge/understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, regulations/VA policies affecting marriage and family therapy practice: including ability to assist Veterans/families to make informed decisions relevant to treatment to include confidentiality limits
5) Ability to provide orientation, training/consultation to new MFTs including clinical oversight of MFT graduate students &/or provide clinical supervision to pre-licensure MFTs

Qualification standards continued in the Additional Information Section