Clinical Psychologist

Qualifications 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 The basic requirements for employment as a VHA psychologist are prescribed by Public Law 96-151 codified in 38 U.S.C. § 7402 To qualify for appointment, all applicants for the position of psychologist in VHA must meet the following: b 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 Continued under the Education Section AND (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 (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 c 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 f Physical Requirements See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 g 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 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: (1) Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level) (a) Experience None beyond the basic requirements (2) Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level) (a) 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 (b) 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 (3) Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance, Level) (a) Experience At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level (b) 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 (c) Assignment This is the full performance level for staff psychologists At this level, psychologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate They may be assigned to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, Compensation and Pension, Vet Centers, and the VHA National Center for Organization Development Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions Psychologists consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities. ]]>