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Addiction Therapist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Jun 1, 2022
Duties

Major Duties will consist of but not limited to:
  • Incumbent will ·provide ongoing individual, group and family substance use disorder counseling and education as necessary to facilitate a successful transition back to the community upon completion of the IOP.
  • Conducts therapeutic short-term, in-depth counseling in accordance with specific guidelines.
  • Conducts interviews, uses questionnaires or other measurement devices, or observes the patient to assess emotional, functional or psychological condition.
  • Gathers social, drug, family and military history and reasons for referral. Prepares written assessments based on knowledge of patient's background and medical history for use by members of the interdisciplinary treatment team or for own use to develop treatment.
  • Functions as primary' care provider for patient during treatment in program.
  • Manages individual patient's treatment plans.
  • Direct services may also include consultation for patients who are being treated in medical surgical, psychiatric, and other inpatient specialty services including the VAMC nursing home care unit.
  • Conducts specialized mental health counseling and. therapy, usually in a group setting (examples include Motivation Enhancement Therapy and cognitiye0behavioral therapies).
  • Establishes, maintains and updates all computerized records on patients as required by the medical center.
  • The incumbent records inforri1ation and observations in patient's records with sufficient clarity and frequency to meet JCAHO and medical center guidelines and-to assure clear communications regarding patient's progress to other team members.
  • Evaluates patient's ·records on a recurring basis to assess the current condition and progress.
  • Participates in peer. review and other performance improvement activities to assure quality documentation by self and peers.
  • Attends SARP interdisciplinary treatment planning : meetings and completes treatment plans ensuring that treatment plans are accurate, complete, and updated at required intervals.
  • Incumbent will provide direct services to patients rece1vmg OAT/methadone, including assisting pharmacy personnel in the monitoring of methadone dispensing.
  • Supervises the collection of and screening of random· urinalysis and breath alcohol content (BAC) as control intervention for treatment compliance.
  • Assists with process of screening OAT applicants; serves as back-up point of contact for OAT applicants requesting transfer or guest dosing from other OAT clinics.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Not authorized for this position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Not authorized for this position
Position Description/PD#: Addiction Therapist/PD02440A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized for this position
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized for this position
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Conditions of Employment


  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.


Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/31/2022.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 grade level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Basic Requirements:
  • Degree: Behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR
  • Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR
  • Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.
In addition to the above basic requirements, applicants must meet specialized experience and/or education requirements as described below.
  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing a variety of evaluative, therapeutic, and consultative tasks in identifying, providing, and ensuring continuity of rehabilitative treatment to those with Substance Use Disorder (SUD); providing ongoing individual, group and family substance use disorder counseling and education as necessary to facilitate a successful transition back to the community; Conducting specialized mental health counseling and therapy in a group setting; Evaluating patient's records on a recurring basis to assess the current condition and progress; recording information and observations in patient's records with sufficient clarity and frequency to meet JCAHO and medical center guidelines; consulting and submitting request to physician for approval for increases/decreases· of patient's dosages ,according to identified treatment needs OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree . OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond. A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Communication
  • Interpersonal Skills


Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Frequent center wide and cori1munity trips could be necessary.· No unusual physical' demands are placed on the incumbent. The work requires extreme patience and control of emotions. The work may require using appropriate techniques to de-escalate patients who present a danger to self or others; these techniques usually consist of verbal and psychological interventions. The work may require assisting-physically ill or disabled clients and may include lifting them.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified : applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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