Staff Psychologist

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.

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Duties

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This position serves as a Staff Psychologist in the National Center for Warrior Independence (NCWI) at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. The position provides a full range of psychological services for the Outpatient Addiction Treatment Programs which includes the Addictive Behavior Clinic (ABC) and Opioid Treatment Program (OTP).

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Key job duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Incumbent applies knowledge and experience working in substance use disorders, PTSD and trauma related disorders, and telemental health delivery.
• Diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders.
• Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and using the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care to patients diagnosed with a variety of mental disorders including but not limited to adjustment disorders, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), thought disorders problems related to Trauma Brain Injury (TBI) or other medical conditions as well as personality/characterological disorders.
• Consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
• May be involved in program coordination and/or evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities.
• Provides direct psychological services approximately 80% of the time.
• Coordination, development and promotion of programs emphasizing group and individual treatment, and other psychological treatment modalities, for the treatment of alcohol and substance abuse.
• Complies with all required documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule : Various tours of duty based on the needs of the service.

Compressed/Flexible :May be available based on the needs of the service.

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified applicants.

EDRP Authorized: This position is eligible for 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 your start date. 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. Contact View email address on click.appcast.io for questions/assistance. Learn more

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases

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)

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 : Not Authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Requirements

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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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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

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.
• Licensure. Applicants 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 [(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 4 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.
• Education. Applicant must 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 applicants are 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; 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. OR
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• AND
• Internships. Applicants must 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 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.

Grade Determinations :

GS-11 Graduate Psychologist

• Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-12 Graduate Psychologist

• Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must possess at least one year of creditable experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) AND can demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • 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 Staff Psychologist

• Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must possess at least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level AND can demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • 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 psychology and behavioral health.
  • Knowledge of clinical research literature.

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 .

Physical Requirements: The work requires the Staff Psychologist to be independently mobile throughout the medical center as needed. Significant time is spent reading (charts, reports, etc.), documenting in the computerized patient record, and verbally communicating with patients, colleagues, supervisors and/or community partners. Some ambulating, bending, pushing, and lifting (moderately heavy) may be involved. The Staff Psychologist should be capable of prolonged movement and be physically capable of reading patient records/reports, documenting all clinical encounters in the patient computerized record, and to speak/communicate clearly and effectively in English.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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.

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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.

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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.