Career Center

Telemental Health Team is a team that provides mental health services to Veterans throughout VANTHCS service area. TMH is defined as the use of information and telecommunication technologies to deliver mental health services when the provider and the Veteran are separated by geographical distance. Services provided are intensive psychotherapeutic, evidence-base psychotherapy and case management as needed for Veterans living with mental health illness and mental health dual diagnoses. 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Preferred Experience: Mental Health Case Management Working with persons living with homelessness Providing services via TeleMental Health means Assessments and Evaluations Supportive and psychotherapeutic therapies Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level., which would include: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. (d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. (e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Appendix G39 dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting: under 15 pounds; straight pulling (up to 1 hour); pushing (1- 2 hours); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; walking (up to 3 hours); standing (up to 3 hours); repeated bending (up to 1 hour); ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision and far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; both eyes required for depth perception; ability to distinguish basic colors, ability to distinguish shades of colors, hearing (aid permitted); climbing stairs; mentally alert; both legs required for operation of motor vehicle; and frequent keyboarding to operate a computer. ["The Mental Health Service of the VA North Texas Health Care System values cultural diversity across our staff and training programs. Mental Health Service leaders are deeply committed to fostering an environment that is highly sensitive to and appreciative of all aspects of diversity. Our staff represent a variety of cultural backgrounds, competencies, interests, and theoretical orientations. We believe that increased self-awareness and appreciation for other viewpoints and cultures makes our service stronger and strengthens our ability to provide the highest quality of mental health care. The TMH Senior Social Worker supports the Telemental Health Team by providing,\npsychotherapy engagement, intensive case management and ensuring continuity of care.\nThe TMH Senior Social Worker provides on-going use of psychotherapy interventions,\nevidence-based psychotherapy and as needed intensive case management to promote\nsustained mental health stabilization. The TMH Senior Social Worker is an expert at the\ncommunity mental health resources and available to assist all Telemental Health Team\nstaff and Veterans who are receiving care from the Telemental Health Team by linking\nthem to supportive resources found within Veterans Affairs and the community at large.\nThe TMH Senior Social Worker will function as the liaison between the Veteran and various\nneeded resources to ensure appropriate coordination of care. The TMH Senior Social\nWorker provides psychotherapy, including evidence-based psychotherapy in which the\nprovider is certified to the Veteran in an individual or group setting. Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness as it\nrelates to mental health illness, severe mental health illness and comorbid substance use\ndisorders. Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and\ntreatment of Veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses\nwithin approved scope of practice.\nExpands clinical knowledge in the profession, demonstrating innovation in the\ncreation of new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address\nspecialized clinical needs of mental health, severe mental health, substance use disorders\nand comorbid. Ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to\nthe specialty population or specialty treatment program. Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work\npractice and services, utilizing outcome evaluations and use of evidence-based treatment modalities that are effective with Veterans who struggle with mental health illness, severe\nmental health illness, comorbid and substance use disorders along with medically and\npsychiatrically complex conditions. Provides specialized assessments, and\ntreatment planning, as well as mental health, severe mental health, substance use\ndisorders and comorbid consultation, to other team members to provide interventions and\nstrategies for engagement for difficult to engage clients. Independently conducts comprehensive assessments and develops treatment plans in collaboration with Veteran, family, and interdisciplinary treatment team. Monitors e-consults, complete assessments, and makes recommendations to the Telemental Health Team in addition to provide direct clinical care to Veterans struggling with mental health illness, severe mental health illness, substance use disorder and comorbid concerns. Develops and maintains effective partnerships with other VANTHCS mental health, severe mental health, substance abuse disorders and comorbid leadership guidelines regarding access to VA mental health programs within VISN 17, including use of VA contracted care. Participates in Telemental Health Team, team meetings related to Veterans enrolled in mental health programs to ensure good transitions of care for population served. Develops and provides ongoing training and in-services to multidisciplinary team members in area of expertise. In addition to the specialty specific job duties listed above the Telemental Health Team\nSenior Social Worker is also required to perform the general social worker duties. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 00000\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]