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.

Duties

• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional ***Experience in time limited evidence based psychotherapy is preferred for this position (ex. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Exposure based treatments, DBT).*** The psychologist will be a key member of the Home Based Primary Care team providing outpatient psychological assessment and evidence based psychotherapy to Veterans presenting with a broad spectrum of diagnoses, including depressive disorders, anxiety/trauma related conditions and personality disorders. Care is delivered to homebound Veterans with complicated medical diagnoses either in the Veteran's residence or using video telehealth/VVC when appropriate. In addition to providing direct services to Veterans the incumbent will work in collaboration with medical staff, social work and case management providing expert consultation on cognitive, emotional and behavioral factors impacting care as well as providing recommendations for treatment and outcome assessment. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Diagnosing mental health disorders by conducting psychological assessments to include clinical interviewing, and relevant testing. Treating mental health disorders through a variety of evidence-based psychotherapies to include group and individual psychotherapy. Performing evaluations for Veterans with a variety of mood, anxiety, SMI and substance use issues, including the dually diagnosed. Providing a full range of therapeutic interventions (e.g. group and individual psychotherapy) and demonstrating competency in a least one evidence-based psychotherapy such as Motivational Interviewing Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Interpersonal Psychotherapy and/or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Providing prevention services/education to patients at significant risk for psychological problems. Providing services to the families of Veterans with dementia being served by HBPC, when such care is directly related to the overall treatment plan for the Veteran and will allow better care for the Veteran and for the family to sustain the Veteran in the home environment. For example, family members may be trained to better manage behavioral problems associated with dementia; such training may allow the HBPC team to reduce use of psychoactive medication as a means of controlling behavioral problems. Providing behavioral interventions to manage pain, disability, address sleep problems, facilitate weight loss, promote smoking cessation, and enhance medical compliance. Consulings with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Staff psychologist may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities. If other duties mentioned below are not in effect, additional clinical time is expected Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00AM-4:30PM. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified applicants. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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: T…

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. 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 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. 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:(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. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. 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. 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. 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 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…

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.