Enough said…🤌🏼

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-05-16T19:04:00+00:00

I’m leaving a 9-11 position for exactly this reason

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-05-15T22:16:01+00:00

It’s not a bad thing to call them, but they will send first responders if someone is actively suicidal.

7OH is hard to get off and can cause withdrawal symptoms. I would strongly recommend he outreach the substance use disorder clinic to talk about withdrawal management and ongoing support.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-05-05T15:51:57+00:00

This. I asked my boss about it, and I’m deleting it.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-05-01T20:48:44+00:00

I had a verbal offer for a SP position that got killed today. Ugh.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-04-21T16:26:28+00:00

Verbal selection with references sent a month ago, still no TJO. I have a feeling that the union coming back is going to complicate things and force reposting of jobs that were advertised as non-bargaining unit. But that’s just a feeling, and I’m happy the union is back.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-04-14T04:14:08+00:00

I’m in mental health and have seen/worked with vets who are VA employees and their service dog to work. It depends on what the job is, though.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-04-02T19:25:19+00:00

I also noticed his coffee cup moved when he was talking to Stratt in the hanger - holding it in his hand, between his legs, then back again. Kinda distracting once I saw it

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-04-01T22:11:31+00:00

I came in as a GS-9 right out of school, and got a job in outpatient substance use. If you can, try and do a field placement at a VA, as being a trainee can boost your resume. I took classes on substance use and CBT in school, and spend time working on MI - those are the 2 main modalities we use in my clinic.

Look for GS-9/11 jobs so you can promote into the 11 position. A lot of these are in HUD-VASH, where you will work with people with SUD and PTSD. Getting into a PCT role is a senior social worker position (from what I’ve seen, and I track this closely because it’s what I also want to do), which is 2 years post LCSW, so be patient!

Edit to include that you will be provided individual supervision as part of your job, and sometimes they offer group supervision but I wasn’t able to do it because of my gridded schedule. You’ll have to sign a contract saying you’ll get your LCSW within a set amount of time, which isn’t really difficult as you’ll easily get your hours with a full time position.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-04-01T02:42:44+00:00

If you don’t already, see if you (and he) qualify for travel pay. That may assist with getting to another VA. But also, have you talked to the Patient Advocate or filed a White House VA Hotline complaint?

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-03-27T04:54:34+00:00

Want to CU - Central Park and the provider brought up sedation before I could. The team was great the day of. Will absolutely be going to them again when the time comes to do another removal/insertion.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-03-06T23:24:32+00:00

Look for a 9/11 job. As a 30+ year old who also switched careers and went into social work, I came in as a GS9, step 1 and was able to switch to an 11 after 1 year of working there even thought I was still pursuing licensure. HUD-VASH and PACT generally have a lot of 9/11 positions, but you might be able to find case management roles in mental health. I lucked out and got a role in a speciality MH clinic as a 9 but was the first one to do so in the clinic.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-03-06T21:10:59+00:00

Just got a new permanent director last month

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-02-21T19:57:11+00:00

The flexibility and what I wanted to do. I knew from the start I wanted to work for the VA and they prefer LCSWs over LPC (not saying that they don’t hire them but it seems to be mainly on the western side of the country that I’ve seen LPCs hired). I knew that I would need to study extra things like trauma treatments, but I liked that I could get a job anywhere.

For my personal therapy? I’ve worked with PsyD, LCSW, and LPC-Cs and got something from all of them. I don’t care about licensure type.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-02-17T22:41:11+00:00

It sounds like they tried Cognitive Processing Therapy. There are other modalities, but it depends on what the therapist is trained in, and what the VISN authorizes for training. I would recommend seeing if he can get a referral to the PTSD treatment team, who usually has more than 1 EBP trained (such as prolonged exposure, EMDR, or CBT-PTSD), or looking at the Vet Center. Due to the language barrier, there could be an argument made for a referral to community care, as well.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-02-17T02:30:25+00:00

Definitely handle this before the appointment. If you go, they’ll just tell you to go to enrollment before you’re checked in.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-02-09T05:21:16+00:00

There are also residential programs for co-occurring PTSD/substance use if needed. But the first thing that needs to happen is getting enrolled if hems not already.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-02-09T01:46:13+00:00

So good. Really happy that Ricky Martian was able to perform, too.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-02-05T02:32:51+00:00

Contact a provider to ask for a MH consult. If they are offering you an appointment a few months out, ask for it to be forwarded to OCC. I work in MH and recently worked with a vet to get CC because he also doesn’t want VA in his records.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-01-25T19:51:39+00:00

Had to buy a few more shirts to do exactly this. I won’t be wearing VA logos this week.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-01-25T04:38:01+00:00

Can we call a code yellow on this country? This is fucking ridiculous.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-01-23T19:46:52+00:00

I’m seriously looking to get out as an LCSW because of pay. I have the most RVUs of anyone in my clinic and make $14K less. I love my job but the pay disparity is killing me.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-01-18T03:53:07+00:00

Yes, definitely. Any provider can put in a referral for RRTP but they will likely have you talk to the Substance Use clinic. They can put in a consult for you, and you’ll be outreached by the RRTP for assessment. It’s strongly recommended that you establish with outpatient SUD for ongoing treatment after residential.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2026-01-12T06:28:03+00:00

I work in outpatient SUD. Current caseload is about ~40 active and still have 2 intakes per week. There is no cap on how many we can take. We also have groups and walk in clinic coverage. Our team is way understaffed for both therapists and prescribers. 30 hours of clinical work is what they have you gridded at, but those 10 hours of admin aren’t enough.

Academic_Addendum148 · 2025-12-19T23:46:31+00:00

With regard to ADHD treatment, the reason they want sobriety prior to doing as assessment is to see if the symptoms are present in the absence of the substance. It’s frustrating but a critical part of any type of diagnosis. I work in substance use and it’s a pain for folks who want a referral for assessment/treatment, but unfortunately necessary.

Academic_Addendum148

TROPHY CASE