Marriage and Family Therapist

Description:

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.

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

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education: Candidates must meet one of the following:
  • Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE, OR
  • Hold a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a 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) that meets the current VA qualification standard of that profession.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to MFT positions in the GS-0182 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted MFT license to independently practice marriage and family therapy in a State.

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:

GS-9 Marriage and Family Therapist (Entry Level) - GS-9 is the entry level grade for the GS-182 Marriage and Family Therapist series and is used for licensed MFTs with less than one year of experience (post-master's degree) or for MFTs (master's or doctoral level) who are graduates not yet licensed at the independent (Journey) level. Unlicensed MFTs at the GS-9 level have completed the required education listed above, and are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure.

In addition, the candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below:

1. Knowledge of human development throughout the lifespan, interventions based on research and family systems theory and therapy, formal diagnostic criteria, risk assessment, evidence-based practice and assessment tools.
2. Ability to assess, with supervision, the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members.
3. Knowledge to formulate, implement, and re-evaluate a treatment plan 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.
4. Ability to provide counseling and/or psychotherapy services, under supervision, to individuals, groups, couples and families in a culturally competent manner that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing of the client system.
5. Basic knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of marriage and family therapy.
6. Ability to draft documents, manage data, maintain accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and track quality improvements.

GS-11 Marriage and Family Therapist (Full Performance Level) : 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

~OR~

• A doctoral degree in marriage and 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, and Psychiatry) may be substituted for the required one year of marriage and family therapy experience in a clinical setting AND

• Licensure in a State at the independent practice level.

~AND~

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) .Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

• 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 reorganizing 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 MFT graduate students, and/or provide clinical supervision to pre-licensure MFTs.
• Skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, maintaining accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and tracking quality improvements.

Preferred Experience: Working with combat veterans in providing family counseling services; working with veterans who were sexually traumatized/harassed while in the military; conducting psycho-social assessments and the provision of processing psychotherapy for trauma related conditions; and implementing treatment plans for combat Veterans/and their families.

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/101 Marriage and Family Therapist Qualification Standard Appendix G44

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. It may require some lifting (10-20 lbs.) occasionally. Reaching above shoulder; Frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day); Sitting (4-7 hours per day); Walking up to 6 hours per day); Standing (up to 8 hours per day); Infrequent climbing/descending of stairs; Some bending; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously.

NOTE: Readjustment Counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Marriage and Family Therapist, Social Worker, Psychologist and Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor. Each discipline is announced separately, and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.