Rehabilitation Counselor- Mental Health

Summary

Position is within Vocational Rehabilitation Section in the Mental Health Service Line, at the VAMC In Manchester NH Serves as a journey level Rehabilitation Counselor providing personal adjustment counseling, therapeutic rehabilitation interventions, and case coordination services, and uses evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities to aid Veterans with severe disabilities, such as physical, psychosocial, psychological, or neurological barriers, integrate successfully into the community.

Duties

• Rehabilitation Counselors in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) work with persons who experience functional impairments and disabilities associated with mental health, physical, and/or psychosocial challenges affecting employment, independent living, or personal adjustment. Duties include but are not limited to the following: Serves Veterans who have myriad barriers to overcome and achieve competitive employment, educational, and independent living goals. Conducts biopsychosocial assessments using medical records, pertinent disability documentation, observation and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate personal, vocational, and educational histories. Selects, administers, and interprets vocational and other psychometric instruments to evaluate abilities, transferrable skills, functional capacity, labor market analyses, aptitudes, interests, values, preferences, and overall work resilience and synthesize into an interpretive data report. Customizes vocational exploration activities to identify self-determined rehabilitation needs and goals, and administers Measurement Based Care instruments to track progress throughout treatment and adjust goals and services as needed. Determines a clinical need for and capacity to benefit from therapeutic and rehabilitation services to include work restoration/resilience treatment, transitional work placement and/or competitive employment, assistive technology, financial benefits counseling and potential benefits protections. Develops patient-centered treatment plans utilizing Specific, Measurable, agreed upon, Realistic, and Time-based (SMART) goals and provides ongoing assessment of Veteran's progress and Provides a variety of professional rehabilitation counseling services such as personal adjustment counseling, therapeutic rehabilitation interventions and case coordination services, utilizing evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities and professional counseling practices to aid Veterans with severe disabilities in achieving competitive employment and educational and independent living goals. Uses effective counseling skills to promote self-awareness, adjustment to disability, enhanced job retention and successful integration to the community. Provides psychoeducational and/or psychotherapeutic groups to facilitate effective job search skills, employer-desired soft skills, work and life skills fostering independence and recovery. Provides job development, customized employment, job carving, job coaching, job accommodation, advocacy, and adaptation services to both Veterans with severe disabilities and to educate and support employers. Consults with interdisciplinary teams to enhance coordination of care, ensure medical clearance, and provide for optimal timing of further interventions. Synthesizes assessment information to identify barriers to employment and their vocational implications. Devises solutions to reduce and/or eliminate barriers and meet Veterans' placement needs which may require substantial modification to environmental or functional demands within a work setting. Procures and manages transitional work agreements from community, state, and federal agencies, and monitors worksite compliance with agreements to ensure Veterans are appropriately trained and evaluated consistent with industry standards. Establishes and maintains a liaison between the Medical Center and organizations within the community which provide competitive employment opportunities for Veterans. Provides disability education and program-specific training to staff and stakeholders. Uses knowledge of the military culture, military transition to civilian occupations, and specific factors and dynamics associated with Veterans, particularly combat Veterans, to advise those who are returning to the community, and community-based work. Work Schedule: Full-Time, 40 hours a week, Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, EST. Telework: Ad-hoc telework may be available, per supervisor discretion. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:608-F2571 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This position is not in a Bargaining Unit position. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.