Department of Veterans Affairs

Senior Social Worker- (PTSD)

Memphis, Tennessee Full time

Senior Social Worker- (PTSD)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Memphis, Tennessee

Salary Range: $101431 - $131866 Per Year

Job Summary: The Senior Social Worker is assigned to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT), General Outpatient Program within Mental Health Service. This Senior Social Worker functions as a member of the PTSD team and provides care to Veterans and is responsible for providing treatment services for PTSD patients as related to their experience of trauma.

Major Duties:

  • VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex patients. Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others. Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy appropriate to patient needs and desires, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy (e.g., Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Prolonged Exposure (PE), mindfulness training, stress reduction, and health behavior management groups, etc.) as indicated. Provides consultation to professional staff within VA Medical Center at Memphis and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients including objective and measurable goals.. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. Functions independently as a member of the VA Medical Center at Memphis Medical Staff, with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation. Assists the PCT coordinator in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs addressing the needs of Veterans with PTSD. Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the PCT established by the Chief of Mental Health Service. Assists the PCT coordinator in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. Facilitates liaisons with other medical center programs in order to effectively coordinate services to Veteran with PTSD. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients. Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures ( e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the PCT Coordinator, Chief of Mental Health Service, Chief of Staff (or designee) and facility Director. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, tour negotiable Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Maybe authorized for highly qualified candidate Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Maybe authorized for highly qualified candidate Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000

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. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Experience/Education. You must possess 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. Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the master's degree in Social Work. 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. 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: Senior Social Worker GS-12 Specialized experience: 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. 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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. 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-12. 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 09/30/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12836842. 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: 2026-09-30