Summary

This position is located within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) - Fredericksburg Health Care Center (HVAMC) - under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service Line. This Social Work Psychotherapist position is aligned with the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program/Outpatient Mental Health Services and and provides psychotherapy services - intakes - and crisis intervention in a team context.

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: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• Education: Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
• Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work
• Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• 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)
• GS-11 Experience and Licensure
• Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings - (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level
• OR - Education
• In addition to meeting basic requirements - a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services
• Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - cultural - ethnic - educational and other diversified backgrounds
• Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e
• acute - chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries - common medications and their effects/side effects - and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan
• Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical - and social problems to achieve treatment goals
• Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers - social work graduate students - and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment
• This is the full performance level
• Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work
• Incumbents are assigned to all program areas - including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine - surgery - mental health - neurology - rehabilitation medicine - and geriatrics
• Employees provide professional - independent social work services in the assigned area
• References: VA Handbook 5005 - Part II Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard GS-0185 Veterans Health Administration
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11

Duties

• Duties include but are not limited to: Complete psychosocial assessments and diagnostic interviews to assess the full range of mental health conditions and diagnoses
• Use social work clinical training - insight - and experience to interpret data to identify treatment options.
• Implement treatment modalities - provide skill-based and evidenced-based psychotherapies in group and individual therapy for veterans and their families in the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) team - and as needed
• Serve veterans who tend to have serious frequent and severe crises - lack family or adequate community support network - be poor at self-monitoring - frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment and have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support
• Use medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities - and treatment procedures - including acute - chronic trauma and PTSD - Major Depressive Disorder - Bipolar Disorder - anxiety and adjustment disorders - personality disorders - psychotic spectrum disorders - etc
• as well as common medications and their effects/side effects - and medical terminology
• Be an active member of the BHIP team who contributes to program development - consultation - and treatment planning within an interdisciplinary treatment team
• Establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with veterans served by the BHIP team and Community Based Outpatient Clinics
• Communicate effectively - both orally and in writing with people from varied backgrounds
• Serve as a liaison and consultant for veterans and their families regarding community resources - VA benefits - VA specialty programs - and advanced directives
• Enter all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates
• Provide case management services to veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care
• VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UUTotal Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Monday - Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00000