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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VA Careers - Psychologist:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Conducts comprehensive psychological assessments and formulates diagnostic impressions using standardized and clinically appropriate methods.
• Delivers evidence-based and evidence-informed psychotherapy for mental health, substance use, behavioral, and psychosocial concerns within granted clinical privileges.
• Completes all required clinical documentation and charting in accordance with healthcare system timelines, quality standards, and accreditation requirements.
• Provides clinical supervision to unlicensed staff and trainees, guidance and education to assigned staff in psychological service deliver.
• Serves as a resource to other professional personnel by offering consultation regarding psychological services and treatment planning.
• Offers education to patients, patients' family members, professional staff, and trainees on mental health conditions and treatment approaches.
• Performs risk assessments for self-harm or harm to others and implements suicide prevention and crisis management procedures.
• Functions as a contributing member of multidisciplinary medical and mental health teams in inpatient, or specialty care settings.
• Participates in performance improvement and quality assurance activities relevant to psychological services and assigned clinical programs.
• Abides by the ethical principles addressed by psychology licensing boards.
• Supports and/or participates in scientific activity.
• May serve on internal and external committees.
• May have administrative responsibilities of limited scope and complexity.

Work Schedule : Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm

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

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)

Remote : This is a remote positionThis position currently has a Return to Office (RTO) mid-term extension (180-days). Remote work is currently authorized; however, candidates may be subject to return to office in the event policy changes or the exemption is not extended.

Functional Statement # : 99256-A, 99255-A, 99253-A

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/examination.
• 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
  • (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
  • (2) 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. 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. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] [OR
  • (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND 2
  • (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.
• 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.

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.
• 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.
  • 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.
  • 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

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 at GS-13.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Education

Preferred Experience:

• Minimum 3 yrs employed with VA.
• Minimum 3 yrs experience with telehealth modalities.
• Minimum 3 yrs providing PCMHI services, including successful completion of National PCMHI/ICCT Competency requirement (Phase I, II, & annual Phase III).
• PCMHI-related knowledge including, but not limited to: Specialized knowledge of evidence-based brief treatment for mild to moderate behavioral health problems and health behavior concerns. Assessment skills including experience with pre-surgical evaluations. Medical literacy, as demonstrated by familiarity with common medical terms, front-line psychiatric medications, understanding of medical culture, and previous experience as part of interdisciplinary treatment teams. Ability to integrate, collaborate, and communicate diagnostic and treatment recommendations within PACT.
• Minimum 1 yr experience with supervising Psychology trainees.

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

This job listing is for a Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Psychologist position within the Legacy VISN 19 Clinical Resource Hub (CRH). The CRH serves clinics throughout Legacy VISN 19 via telehealth.

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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