Staff Psychologist - Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs Counselor

Summary

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.

Qualifications

***This is an open continuous announcement until August 6 - 2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. *** The initial cutoff date to review applicants will be on June 11 - 2026. 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
• Education (1) 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 (2) 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
• NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program - which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship
• [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] [OR (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND 2 (4) Internships (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
• 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
• 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
• Exception Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS- 12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed
• Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment
• English Language Proficiency Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3j
• Grade Requirements Staff Psychologist - GS-11 (Entry Level) Experience None beyond the basic requirements
• Staff Psychologist - GS-12 (Developmental Level) 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
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1
• Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations
• 2
• Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies
• 3
• Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures
• 4
• Ability to conduct research activities - such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties)
• 5
• 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
• Staff Psychologist - GS-13 (Full Performance - Level) Experience At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1
• Knowledge of - and ability to apply - professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations
• 2
• Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health
• 3
• Knowledge of clinical research literature
• 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)
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• 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.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Identifies problems/needs from the assessment to be treated and develops the individual treatment plan
• Provides individual professional input and addressing the social aspect of the patient's situation with the treatment team
• Assists Veterans and the treatment team in navigating problems in the residential milieu
• Ensures all case management as assigned for the duration of the Veteran's admission through post-discharge follow-up
• Conducts therapeutic counseling in accordance with specific guidelines and handles crises regularly with minimal supervision
• Serves as therapist/counselor with individuals and groups
• Observes and documents behavior and reaction patterns of patients to be utilized by the multidisciplinary treatment team - and final disposition for follow-up
• Develops and conducts lectures and educational presentations for patients related to various specialty aspects of general mental health - substance use disorder - post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - or Serious Mental Illness (SMI)
• Educates the veteran - their families - and the team on all the options available to them and will collaborate with the veteran and family on the preferred option
• Develops - organizes - and implements a wide variety of outpatient aftercare treatment for patients and their collaterals
• Develops and implements methods to motivate veterans to attend aftercare and/or participate in the outpatient program
• Transports veterans to assist them in assessing resources or taking care of essential business
• Government vehicle will be used as well as all processes - trainings - and requirements related to Government vehicle use
• Collaborates with other service providers in reassessing the Veteran's needs
• Educates the veteran and/or caregiver about the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference or that of the surrogate decision-maker
• Serves as a field instructor - preceptor - and/or mentor to interns - new/unlicensed - or newly licensed clinicians and peers as needed
• Enters all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate/approved formats and templates
• Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with employees - volunteers - consumers - and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies
• Attends all appropriate staff meetings - team meetings - committee meetings - or group meetings and perform other duties as required
• Collaborates in the performance improvement process and complies with performance measures as required by the appropriate program offices and local policies
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment
• Offers consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialty areas - rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise - and role modeling effective clinical practice skills
• Demonstrates the ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday
• 7:30am - 4:00pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May Be Authorized GS-13 only Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact View email address on careers.biausa.org - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more 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: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 51233-A
• 51234-A
• 51235-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.