Staff Psychologist

Summary

The Intermittent Psychologist is located in the Minneapolis VA Health Care System (MVAHCS) and VISN 23's Comprehensive Pain Center (CPC) which is located within the Rehabilitation and Extended Care Integrate Care Community. The CPC is an Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation Program offering varying levels of pain treatment, including our 4-week intensive program.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

This is an OPEN CONTINOUS ANNOUNCEMENT . We are accepting applications on an ongoing basis; applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis, as long as the vacancy exists.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult Veterans with co-morbid mental and physical health problems.
• Provides education to Veterans, family members, and significant others within the Pain Center.
• Consults with CPC professional staff, medical center staff, and VISN 23 referral sources concerning clinical assessment, appropriate treatment plans, behavioral plans, and discharge plans for Veterans.
• Provides consultation to other affiliated health care providers about treatment plans for Veterans, to ensure care is coordinated, collaborative and integrated within the overall care plan.
• Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions including individual, couple/family, group psychotherapy and psycho-educational groups (i.e. anger management, coping skills), as well as specialized interventions such as Biofeedback, CBT for chronic pain and treatment within the Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program (CPRP). Uses evidence based interventions. Presents informed reports and educates interdisciplinary teams on the use of newly proven or evidence-based intervention techniques.
• Provides behavioral medicine interventions to manage pain, disability, address sleep problems, facilitate weight loss, promote tobacco cessation and enhance medical compliance.
• Has the ability to use interpersonal and communication skills in dealing with a wide variety of people in gaining their support.
• Presents with current skills, or willingness to learn and administer Biofeedback within the context of pain treatment.
• Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for Veterans served by the CPC.

Academic/Teaching/Training:

• Provides leadership guidance and consultation to staff and trainees.
• Provides formal and informal education and guidance to external stakeholders (facility, VISN, and community) to enhance the evidence-based management of Veterans meeting criteria for the CPC.
• May be involved in the training of psychology practicum students, interns, and postdoctoral residents in coordination with the larger training programs and discipline supervisors.
• Identifies and facilitates continuing education training opportunities for staff members; establishes teamwork groups to study evidence-based practices; fosters research and may disseminate the results at major conferences or via journal submissions; and supports staff members during their grant submission process.
• May hold a faculty appointment.

Research/Program Evaluation:

• May oversee the establishment of program monitors and outcome measurements within programs assigned using data-driven quality assurance processes.
• Is responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate.
• If applicable, plans and oversees the completion of personal research programs, designed to provide information regarding program planning and relevant treatment approaches.
• May present outcome data and research results at VA and regional or national scientific or professional meetings.

Other Significant Responsibilities:

• Serves on Medical Center and committees or task forces as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; 08:00 to 16:30

Telework: Ad-Hoc only

Virtual: T his is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.
• Education:
• 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.

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:
• the re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program;
• and
• 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.

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: 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.

• 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 Determinations:

GS-11 Staff Psychologist (Entry Level):

Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-12 Staff Psychologist (Developmental Level):

Experience. At least 1 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, the candidate must demonstrate 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 psychologists with specified research job duties).

GS-13 Staff Psychologist (Full Performance Level):

Experience. At least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.