Marriage and Family Therapist

Job Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

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

Responsibilities

The Marriage and Family Therapist functions as a member of the VASNHS Couples and Family Program team and provides outpatient mental health services to Veterans and their families.

The Marriage and Family Therapist may be located at the VA Medical Center, an outlying Primary Care Clinic, or the Pahrump Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

Key Duties:

• Provides clinical services including direct clinical care to Veterans being treated in BHIP, primarily via parenting, couples/family, and group therapy.
• Develops comprehensive treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals, objectives, and interventions for psychosocial clinical treatment.
• Provides individual, family, and group therapy services in accordance with the needs identified in the Veteran's treatment assessment and treatment plan.
• Ultimately responsible for all entries in the Veteran's medical record (CPRS) and timely completion thereof, including discharge summaries and patient encounters.
• Adheres to HIPAA, privacy regulations and VHA Directives related to release of information.
• Responsible for completion of all assigned clinical reminders for patients under their care, and performance measures assigned to the Care Line.
• Fully accountable for practice, including Veteran visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards.

Work Schedule and Benefits

Monday - Friday, subject to change based on the needs of the agency

Authorized Compressed/Flexible Schedule

This is not a virtual position

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.

All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.

Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.

Must be proficient in written and spoken English.

You may be required to serve a probationary period.

Subject to background/security investigation.

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

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).

Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship:
• English Language Proficiency
• Education: A master's degree or doctoral degree in MFT from a program approved by COAMFTE, 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)

NOTE: Transcripts Required Licensure: Persons hired must hold a full, current, and unrestricted MFT license to independently practice marriage and family therapy in a State

NOTE: A Copy of your License MUST be submitted with your application package.

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 the following must be met in order to be qualified.

Marriage and Family Therapist GS Experience, Education and Licensure: In addition to the basic requirements, the full performance level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-master's degree experience in the field of MFT work and licensure in a State at the independent practice level.

OR, a doctoral degree in MFT 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 MFT experience in a clinical setting.

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

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• 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 in a culturally competent manner that facilitates change through restructuring and re-organizing 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 graduate students, and/or provide clinical supervision to pre-licensure;

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

Assignments: MFTs can provide general mental health services to Veterans within the ethics and guidelines of the professional standards.

MFTs at this level formulate, implement, and re-evaluate treatment plans 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.

In the event that Advanced or Supervisory level assignments are not established/supportable, the incumbents at this level can be responsible for clinical supervision for licensing purposes only, provided they have an AAMFT approved supervisor credential.

References:

VA Handbook 5005/PART II APPENDIX G44 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS11.

Physical Requirements:

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services

Education:

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education

Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment.

You can verify your education here:

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education

For further information, visit:

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