Marriage and Family Therapist (Readjustment Counselor

This position is eligible for Education Debt Reduction Program EDRP, a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

Program approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.

Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply.

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.

Be a citizen of the United States. (Non‑citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter3, sectionA, paragraph3g, this part.)

Hold a master’s degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a program approved by COAMFTE, OR 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.

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.

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 must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, PartII, Chapter3, SectionA, paragraph3j.

All persons employed in VHA as an MFT on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education that is part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, demoted, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. MFTs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

Employees who are retained as an MFT under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry as an MFT.

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 level. Unlicensed MFTs at the GS‑9 grade level have completed the required education listed above and are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure.

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 t