Staff Psychologist- -Recruitment/Relocation - EDRP Approved

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

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
• 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
• 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: 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 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 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 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 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: Candidates must 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 (a)(1)(D) 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
• 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)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: GS-11 Experience: None beyond the 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
• Experience includes: diagnose mental disorders - conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders - and may conduct research
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• 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
• Experience includes: diagnose mental disorders - conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• 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 7 psychology and behavioral health
• Knowledge of clinical research literature
• Continuation in Additional Information

Duties

• This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until March 15 - 2027 .The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be March 20 - 2026 - with subsequent cut-off dates every two weeks until 03/15/2027
• Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled
• Applicants who are referred will be considered for 90 days - after 90 days applicants will have to reapply
• The Primary Purpose of the Position is: The Primary Purpose of the Position is to serve as a staff psychologist on an interdisciplinary outpatient mental health team (Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Team (BHIP) in which the employee conducts a variety of outpatient services - including provision of evidence based psychotherapy (individual - group - and couples/family psychotherapy) and completion of psychological screenings and evaluations aimed at serving the needs of Veterans
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include but not limited to: 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 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 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
• 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
• The incumbent may provide education seminars for psychology interns and for postdoctoral fellows and may participate in applicant interviews and selection
• Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: This position is eligible for the 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
• 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: Available This position currently requires up to 50% telework (5 days per pay period)
• This is not a remote position
• The telework schedule may increase or decrease over time based on the needs of the service and national policies
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 53780-F -53781-F -53783-F 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.