The Manchester, NH Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tilton Community Based Outpatient Center(CBOC), is recruiting for a Licensed Mental Health Therapist to care for our Veteran Heroes!

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. 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.

Duties Include but are not limited to:

Senior Licensed Mental Health Therapists (Senior Social Worker(SSW), Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (SLPMHC) ) diagnose mental disorders, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. The Senior Mental Health Therapists function within the Mental Health Service Line to provide mental health services to treat highly complex mental health problems which require expert level psychological clinical interventions for a diverse group of Veterans and their families. The Senior Licensed Mental Health Therapist must have post-licensed experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgement. This vacancy is assigned to the Tilton Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), Tilton, NH.

Major duties include, but may not be limited to:

• Provides comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments and formulates and implements treatment plans promoting episodes of care for individuals and families from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diverse backgrounds.
• Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment identifying needs and strengths. Effectively uses advanced professional skill, objectivity, and insight. Uses advanced clinical training insight, and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options. Assesses high risk factors, acuity, and needs for services. Has the ability to serve Veterans who tend to have frequent and severe crises, lack family or adequate community support network, be ineffective at self-monitoring, frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or have significant deficits in coping skills and require continued assessment and clinical support.
• Independently evaluates the client’s clinical and psychosocial needs. Based on the biopsychosocial assessment, uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychological/ psychiatric diagnosis.
• Performs insightful assessment of Veterans with serious and complicated psychiatric illness involving psychiatric, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, and other high-risk diagnoses. Makes independent professional decisions and recommendations for clinical action. Consequences to the Veteran may be serious, and the results are often unpredictable.
• Assesses, recommends, and provides effective treatment to help Veterans and/or significant others cope with stressful situations.
• Receives and completes Consults for psychotherapy from interdisciplinary team members, and from other mental Health Therapists in the VAMC, on complex, difficult cases, using advanced practice skills, and expertise.
• Directs and coordinates clinical MH services provided to the Veteran and is accountable for the overall effectiveness of the services provided. Best practices, measurement-based care, practice guidelines, and evidence-based treatment protocols are utilized to the extent feasible in all therapeutic interventions. The incumbent will ensure productivity is maintained at the established level for the program to which the incumbent is assigned. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients. He/she provides crisis counseling/crisis assessment to individuals and families.
• The incumbent provides education and referral for resources and benefits and post-intervention follow-up.
• The employee implements treatment modalities in working with individuals, groups, and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. The employee utilizes supportive, problem solving or crisis intervention techniques. The employee provides time-limited, skills focused counseling and/or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, and families. The employee provides education and referral for resources and benefits, short-term case management, and postintervention follow-up.
• The employee provides education and referrals to Veterans for community services, and coordinates these services, as necessary. The employee acts as liaison between community and VA programs, providing care coordination assistance to community organizations, as needed.
• The employee provides evaluation and psychotherapy intervention to Veterans in person and through the use of telehealth technology: VA Video Connect (VVC) and Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT).
• The employee will fully assess suicide/homicide risk factors using standardized and validated suicide risk measures, identify protective factors, and clearly interpret the safety and recommended level of care for the Veteran. The employee completes Suicide Behavior/Overdose Reports in accordance with policy. The employee collaborates with the Suicide Prevention program for Veterans assessed to be at increased risk for suicide.
• The employee provides assessment and treatment for Veterans presenting with substance abuse and/or dual diagnosis. The appropriate screening, interventions, and referrals are provided and facilitated, including when working in conjunction with Urgent Care.
• The employee is responsible to ensure continuity of care for all Veterans presenting in mental health crisis, by providing intervention or facilitating services with another provider. The employee will track clinical contacts to ensure continuity of care for Veterans seen in crisis care. The employee documents psychological interventions and activities in Veteran’s clinical record utilizing the electronic medical chart (CPRS) and ensures an appropriate hand-off and documentation when transferring Veteran care.
• The employee participates in the Mental Health On-Call rotation as assigned.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday, and may have extended hours in the early mornings and evenings.

Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized

Telework: May be authorized up to 4 days per pay period following a mandatory full-time 90-day on-site training period.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Pay: Extremely competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized

EDRP Authorized: Authorized

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Pay Ranges

• Senior Social Workers range from GS12 Step1 to GS12 Step10 ($93,175-$121,128)
• Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) range from GS12 Step1 to GS12 Step10 ($93,175-$121,128)
• All ranges are based on qualifications, licensure status, and/or experience and can be further discussed during the interview process with Human Resources.

Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Social Work, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC), and Psychologist Qualification Standards (copy and paste link below)
• https://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/Directives-Handbooks/Documents/5005-147-Final.pdf
• For