Staff Psychologist - Telemental Health Recruitment/Relocation Incentive/EDRP Authorized

Full Job Description

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.

You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with 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 complete review of the EDRP application.

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: Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed.

The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills.

Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas.

PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology.

There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment.

Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology).

OR, Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re- specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re- specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: (a) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

OR, Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND Internship: (a) Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

OR (b) New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern; OR (c) VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96- 151 (pre- 1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement; OR (d) Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

(NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) OR (e) Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally- accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program.

If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one- year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program.

Licensure: Hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.

Board Certification.

Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education. Grandfathering Provision.

[All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

Grade Determinations: GS-11: None above basic requirements GS-12: Experience. At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11).

Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.

Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.

Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).

Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship and research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, and collaboration.

GS-13: Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.

Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health. Knowledge of clinical research literature.

Preferred Experience: Holds a full and unrestricted license as a psychologist in a US State or Territory Experience providing crisis intervention, safety planning, and case management services Training and clinical experience in evidence-based psychotherapy Experience providing mental health care in a virtual/telemental health modality Experience providing mental health care to a Veteran population.

Experience using psychological assessment instruments to assist with diagnostic assessment Supervisor 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-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work.

Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site.

Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. Major Duties:

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until 02/08/2027. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.

The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be 02/23/2025, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st of each month.

A Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a Highly Qualified Individual.

VA Careers - Psychologist: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties may include but are not limited to: This is a direct patient care position which requires General Core Psychology privileges on the Telemental Health Team.

The incumbent provides a full range of therapeutic interventions for a MH outpatient team including time-limited individual therapy, couples/family therapy, process and time-limited group therapy, and psychoeducation in individual and group format.

Cognitive and behavioral therapy approaches are used most frequently, with an emphasis on time-limited evidence-based treatments.

The incumbent is knowledgeable of current research literature and has received training in evidence-based treatments relevant to the position and engages in measurement-based care where clinically appropriate.

The incumbent administers and interprets a wide variety of psychological assessment tools. Psychological interviews, testing, and assessment skills are utilized for a variety of patient conditions.

The psychologist is aware of complicating factors such as substance abuse/dependence, medical/neurological conditions, personality, and other psychological functioning factors, including the co-morbidity of substance abuse, and psychiatric conditions.

The employee uses a variety of modalities to treat mental disorders and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, including crisis management.

The incumbent responds to patient crisis situations in a timely manner with the goal of assisting the patient to maintain a positive and effective relationship with the staff, family and other patients.

Patient and staff safety will take priority in any crisis. The incumbent provides suicide risk assessment and safety planning as needed.

This includes providing triage services for patients at elevated risk of harm to self or others. The incumbent regularly consults with medical center staff regarding various patient care issues.

As such it is necessary that the incumbent communicate and interact well with other disciplines and treatment providers. There are no administrative responsibilities associated with this position.

However, the employee may directly supervise the work of unlicensed psychologists, practicum students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows.

The incumbent may provide education seminars for psychology interns and for postdoctoral fellows and may participate in applicant interviews and selection.

As with all staff psychologist positions within Mental Health Service, the employee is called upon to serve on ad hoc workgroups or committees within the service to address problems and concerns of the profession and service.

The incumbent actively participates in the Team's performance improvement project(s) aimed at evaluating inefficiencies within the clinic and developing strategies to remedy such issues.

Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 53780-F, 53781-F, 53782-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized