Staff Psychologist

Position Overview

The Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is hiring a licensed psychologist to join Behavioral Health Services (BHS), an established, in-house team practicing the full scope of Police & Public Safety Psychology. Operating under the Personnel Support Division, BHS supports the emotional health, resilience, and career longevity of the deputies, detention officers, telecommunicators, and civilian staff of the largest sheriff's office in Texas and the third largest in the United States — and the families who stand behind them.

The Staff Psychologist practices across the four domains of the specialty: assessment (including pre-employment and specialty-unit evaluations), intervention (individual, couples, and family therapy, and critical incident response), operational consultation to command staff and specialty units, and organizational consultation on wellness programming, training, and applied program evaluation. Compensation is competitive with regional public-sector and academic psychology positions.

We invite applicants who are licensed as psychologists in Texas or another U.S. jurisdiction and able to obtain Texas licensure by endorsement or reciprocity within an agreed timeframe following hire. Training or experience serving law enforcement, corrections, other first responders, or comparable populations such as military is preferred.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive with regional public-sector and academic psychology positions. As a full-time Harris County employee, you likely qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which forgives the remaining federal Direct Loan balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments (approximately 10 years).

Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct pre-employment psychological evaluations of candidates for sworn and designated civilian positions in accordance with TCOLE requirements, ADA/EEOC guidance, and applicable professional standards (IACP and APA guidelines).
• Conduct post-critical-incident visits to address immediate reactions, provide education on common stress and trauma responses, and identify appropriate follow-up support.
• Provide voluntary, confidential individual, couples, and family therapy for HCSO employees, retirees, eligible family members, and other authorized recipients.
• Conduct mandatory and voluntary wellness visits for personnel in designated high-exposure assignments.
• Provide office-based brief crisis stabilization and clinical consultation; CIRT serves as the primary field response for mental health emergencies.
• Provide operational and organizational consultation to command staff and specialty units, including crisis and hostage negotiation, tactical operations, threat assessment, and protective operations for County elected officials.
• Participate in a rotating 24/7 on-call schedule through the Emergency Dispatch Center to provide after-hours clinical consultation, critical incident response, and specialty-unit support.
• Provide consultation to supervisors and command evaluating the need for a Duty Status Evaluation; BHS does not conduct DSEs.
• Develop and deliver in-service training at the HCSO Academy on topics such as stress management, suicide prevention, substance use prevention, family wellness, and post-traumatic stress.
• Support outreach, prevention, and program development for BHS clinical services.
• Coordinate with other Personnel Support Division programs, including Peer Support Network, Chaplaincy, Family Assistance, and Military Liaison.
• Ensure compliance with departmental policy, applicable law, and licensure requirements.
• Provide mutual aid to allied law enforcement and public-safety agencies as appropriate.
• Perform other duties as required within the scope and responsibility of the position.

This Job Description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. Management may, at its discretion, assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Minimum Requirements

Required Education/Training and Experience

• Psy.D. or Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, or a substantive equivalent from an American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited institution of higher education.
• Minimum of three (3) years of professional experience providing psychological testing, diagnosis, treatment, and counseling; including identifying behavioral, emotional, cognitive, substance-related, or personality problems and the development of appropriate programs on an individual and program-level basis.

Required Licenses and Certifications

• Currently licensed as a psychologist in Texas or in another U.S. jurisdiction with the ability to obtain Texas licensure by endorsement or reciprocity within an agreed timeframe following hire. Postdoctoral trainees and applicants pursuing initial licensure are not eligible.
• Valid Driver's License (Texas upon hire).

Knowledge of:

• Clinical and counseling psychology, psychometrics, psychopathology, and neuropsychological principles as applied to adult populations.
• Current DSM and ICD diagnostic criteria.
• Evidence-based psychological evaluation and treatment methods.
• Ethical principles and standards of the American Psychological Association and the rules of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council and the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
• HIPAA, Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 611, and other federal and state laws governing the confidential handling of mental health information.
• The scope and standards of Police & Public Safety Psychology, including relevant APA guidelines and IACP Police Psychological Services Section guidelines.
• Public-safety culture and the occupational stressors of law enforcement, corrections, and telecommunications personnel.

Skilled in:

• Selecting, administering, and interpreting psychological assessments.
• Conducting evidence-based individual counseling and, as clinically indicated, couples or family interventions.
• Providing crisis intervention, brief stabilization, and post-critical-incident response.
• Providing operational and organizational consultation to command staff and specialty units while maintaining clinical and ethical boundaries.
• Preparing accurate, timely records and reports that meet legal, ethical, and administrative standards.
• Exercising independent clinical judgment in an autonomous practice environment.
• Interacting effectively with all levels of agency personnel, allied agencies, and community partners.

Ability to:

• Plan and direct psychological services, training activities, and applied program evaluation.
• Manage a clinical caseload while balancing consultation, training, and program-development responsibilities.
• Consult effectively with operational leaders while maintaining appropriate clinical and ethical boundaries.
• Adapt clinical practice to a public-safety agency environment while maintaining professional standards and confidentiality obligations.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with sworn and civilian personnel, agency leadership, allied agencies, and community stakeholders.
• Consult with senior colleagues experienced in law enforcement and public-safety psychology and engage in ongoing professional development.

Preferences

• Prior experience serving high-tempo, high-risk populations (e.g., law enforcement, corrections, other first responders, military, emergency medicine, aerospace, or other mission-critical settings).
• Board certification or board eligibility through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), particularly in Police & Public Safety Psychology, Clinical Psychology, or Forensic Psychology.
• Training or experience in pre-employment psychological screening or forensic psychological assessment relevant to public-safety personnel.
• Experience developing or delivering training and prevention programs to first-responder or public-safety audiences.
• Experience communicating effectively with varied audiences, including all levels of management and peers.
• Demonstrated interpersonal effectiveness and professionalism in working with others in a collaborative, multidisciplinary, team-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated ability to be flexible and adapt quickly to changing requirements.

General Information

Work Environment

This job operates primarily in professional office and classroom environments, with some opportunities to deliver services in the field.

Physical Demands

This role is primarily sedentary. Occasional lifting and carrying of up to 10 pounds is necessary to lift files, boxes of records, and training materials.

Position Type and Typical Hours of Work

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are typically Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., though the schedule is flexible. Hours may vary based on the business needs of the department, and participation in a rotating after-hours on-call schedule