Marriage and Family Therapist

Marriage and Family Therapist

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Martinsburg, West Virginia

Salary Range: $70623 - $111087 Per Year

Job Summary: Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) work with couples, families, individual and groups utilizing systemic theories, requiring expertise in interpersonal relationships, with conceptualizations that are distinct from the individually oriented therapies. These professionals are licensed to diagnose and treat mental health disorders and are highly trained in psychotherapy and family systems.

Major Duties:

• Clinical Responsibilities: Marriage and family therapy is short-term therapy (12 sessions on average) which includes developing, planning, and implementing services based on individualized patient needs, developing and implementing educational resources for use in these clinical services; completing clinical record documentation of interventions and services provided according to established policies and procedures; and preparing necessary administrative records and reports consistent with Mental Health Service programs. These work activities are within established Joint Commission, legal and ethical standards including privacy and confidentiality requirements. Conducts clinical assessments with focus on identifying risk factors and the psychosocial needs of Veterans and their identified significant others. Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others. Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including marital, couples, family and group psychotherapy. Provides consultation to professional staff within the Martinsburg VA Medical Center and to community providers, concerning evaluation and appropriate treatment plans for patients with marital and family problems. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for Veterans with marital and family problems in collaboration with treatment team/supervisor. Provides crisis intervention protocol for addressing medical and/or psychiatric emergencies. Works collaboratively and cooperatively with an interdisciplinary treatment team/supervisor to provide services to Veterans with marital and family problems. Assist Veterans and families in connecting with appropriate and needed resources and services. Adheres to operational policies and procedures established by the VA, Mental Health and program(s). Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services. Adheres to all Facility and service policies and practices for delivering clinical care, including but not limited to risk assessment and reduction practices for potentially dangerous behavior (suicide and violence), timeliness of care and access standards, professional conduct requirements, and CPRS documentation conventions. Achieves minimal clinical workload expectation as established by Mental Health Service Leadership. Other Clinical responsibilities as assigned. Administrative Responsibilities: Complies with documentation procedures, and workload entry, including timeliness standards for documentation, proper coding, and proper scheduling/check out procedures. Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by supervisor and program treatment team. Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team, established by the section, program, or discipline lead or service chief. Assist the section, program, or discipline lead in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. Liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services. Complies with national and local performance measures and facilitates organizational success on these measures at the section or program level. Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Mental Health executive, the Chief of MHS (or designee), the Chief of Staff, and/or Facility Leadership. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: GS-9 000000 GS-11 26386-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications: 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, 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. Exception: The Secretary, or his/her designee, may waive the licensure requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of State prerequisites for licensure examinations for a period not to exceed three years from the date of employment on the condition that MFTs appointed on this basis provide care only under the supervision of a fully licensed MFT with an AAMFT approved license. Non-licensed MFTs who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given an appointment as an MFT under the authority of 38 U.S.C.§ 7401(3). This exception only applies at the entry grade level (GS-9). For grades at or above the full performance level, the candidate must be licensed. MFTs that are not licensed at the time of appointment must become licensed at the independent level (Journey level) within three years of their appointment as a MFT. Most States require two years of post-graduate MFT experience as a pre-requisite to taking the licensure examination; VHA allows MFTs one additional year to pass the licensure exam. It is VHA policy that a MFT who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be clinically supervised by an AAMFT approved licensed MFT at or above the journey level who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. Failure to Obtain License. In all cases, unlicensed MFTs must actively pursue meeting State prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the Human Resource Officer will provide the unlicensed MFT with the written requirements for licensure, the date by which the license must be obtained, and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to obtain a license by the prescribed date will result in removal from the GS-0182 MFT series and may result in termination of employment Grade Determinations: : In addition to the basic requirements above for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level for each candidate. Marriage and Family Therapist, GS-9 (Entry Level) Experience, Education and Licensure. The entry level grade is used for non licensed MFTs or for MFTs (master's or doctoral level) who are graduates not yet licensed at the independent practice (Journey) level. Unlicensed MFTs at the GS-9 grade level have completed the required education listed in paragraph 3b above, and are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure. In addition, the candidates must demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) in subparagraph (b) below. Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to meeting the KSAs for GS-9 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 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. Ability to assess, with supervision, the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members. 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. Ability to provide counseling and, or psychotherapy services, under supervision, to individuals, groups, couples and families in a manner that facilitates change through restructuring and reorganizing of the client system. Basic knowledge and understanding of existing relevant statutes, case law, ethical codes, and regulations affecting professional practice of marriage and family therapy. Ability to draft documents, manage data, maintain accurate, timely and thorough clinical documentation, and track quality improvements. Marriage and Family Therapist, GS-11 (Full Performance Level) Experience, Education and Licensure. 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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs in subparagraph (b) below. OR, In addition to the basic requirements, 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 the candidate must be licensed to practice at the independent practice level and they must demonstrate the following KSA Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to meeting the KSAs for GS-11 grade level, the candidate 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 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. 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-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/09/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12898244. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-09