Staff Psychologist - Recruitment/Relocation Incentive - EDRP

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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VA Careers - Psychologist:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The staff psychologist is assigned to the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) located in Austin, TX. The staff psychologist's primary duties involve initial biopsychosocial assessment treatment planning, and psychological treatment to Veterans with a wide range of co-occurring disorders, including but not limited to anxiety, PTSD, depression, substance use, and personality disorders.

• Contributes to the gathering of biopsychosocial assessment information.
• Uses shared decision making with Veterans to develop a detailed treatment plan for Veterans serviced by BHIP.
• Provides recovery planning and psychological treatment to Veterans with a wide range of co-occurring disorders, including but not limited to anxiety, PTSD, depression, substance use, psychosis, and personality disorders.
• Participates as a member of an interdisciplinary team providing a full range of psychological services (e.g., individual and group psychotherapy) and consultative services within an outpatient general mental health treatment setting.
• Provides evidence-based individual and group psychotherapy to Veterans with complex mental health problems. Treatment approaches utilized should be supported by psychological research regarding effectiveness for the conditions being treated. Treatment approaches may include but are not limited to: acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and interpersonal psychotherapy.
• Administers, scores, documents, and discusses psychodiagnostics tests and screening instruments as well as neurocognitive screening to clarify diagnoses and monitor treatment outcomes.
• Participates as a member of medical center hospital committees as directed.
• Serves as an advisor, consultant, and/or point of resource to staff within the medical center.
• Maintains appropriate records and follow-up data on patients who are assigned to their patient panel.
• Actively participates in process redesign efforts aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment program and modifications to better serve the needs of the Veterans.
• Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check-out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes, completing encounters, and signing or co-signing notes).
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings as held by CTVHCS and MH&BM management.
• Regularly attends and participates in program level meetings including BHIP Huddles, BHIP Treatment Team meetings, and others as directed.
• Completes other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday; 7:30am -4:00pm, 8:00am -4:30pm, 8:30am -5:00pm

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, 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 : As determined by agency policy.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : Staff Psychologist (BHIP) GS-11: 56143-F GS-12: 56144-F GS-13: 56145-F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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.
• 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 & 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 & 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 . OR
  • Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology & 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:
    
    
    • Re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program &
    • 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 &/or certificate documenting completion of re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above & who were employed by the Department of VA prior to implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards. OR
    • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 & 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND
• Internships
  • 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 & unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States or 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 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.
  • Loss of Credential. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment.
  • Board Certification and Loss of Credential
    
    
    • Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. Board certificate must be current & applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.
    • Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid & unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment.
• Physical Requirements : See VA Directive & Handbook 5019.
• English Language Proficiency : Psychologists must be proficient in spoken & 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 : GS-11

• Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.

Qualifications, Preferred Experience and Physical Requirements Information Continued Below - Education Information

Education

Qualification Information Continued: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 supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills & Abilities . In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of & ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations
  • Ability to design & implement effective treatment strategies
  • Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures
  • Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing & implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties)
  • Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship & research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance & 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.
• 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 psychology and behavioral health.
  • Knowledge of clinical research literature.

Preferred Experience:

1. Two years of experience in generalist setting.
2. Holds license to practice independently.
3. Experience with Veteran/military populations.
4. Experience with interdisciplinary teams.
5. Train/VA-certified in evidence-based psychotherapies.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit 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 is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

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:

Accreditation Information : You 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) accreditation/CPA accredited programs/ 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 completed a 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 you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for; OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

NOTE : If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

NOTE : If your school was accredited by APA or CPA at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

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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