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 The HBPC Psychologist functions as the primary mental health provider of the HBPC team, providing mental health prevention, assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation services in the Veteran's residential setting. This individual may also provide coverage in other geriatrics and extended care settings, but the position will be dedicated to HBPC functions. This position requires a considerable amount of driving/travel from the facility to Veterans homes for visits. Provide screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depression and anxiety-related disorders, as well as other mental health conditions, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches. Assess and provide treatments for subclinical symptoms of dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, and excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs (for which the Veteran may have a lower-than-normal tolerance due to their medical conditions and the potential for negative interactions with prescribed medication). Provide psychological prevention services to Veterans at significant risk for psychological problems. Provide services to the families of Veterans with neurocognitive disorders 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 allow the family to sustain the Veteran in the home environment. Provide screening for cognitive deficits to address specific functional questions or to determine if a referral for a complete neuropsychological evaluation or more extensive cognitive assessment is needed. Perform capacity assessments when there are questions about a Veteran's ability to make medical decisions, perform other specific functions, or live independently. Assess Veterans' understanding of advanced directives and other forms of consent and assist staff in determining how to present treatment options and other such material to Veterans in a format they can understand. Provide individual and group interventions to support Veterans that are coping with feelings of grief and loss associated with disability and other life transitions. Provide psychoeducational and supportive interventions, in conjunction with the Veteran, for spouses, family members/caregivers, and others that are crucial to keeping the Veteran at home. Provide effective interventions with couples or families, when appropriate, to relieve relationship difficulties, provide support to caregivers of Veterans with neurocognitive disorders or other significant frailty, and/or promote collaboration with the HBPC team, for the benefit of the Veteran. Facilitate transition and adjustment to new living situations (e.g., nursing home, assisted living facility), and provide seamless intervention services, as appropriate. Provide behavioral medicine interventions to manage pain, disability, address sleep problems, facilitate weight loss, promote smoking cessation, and enhance medical compliance. Position requires use of government vehicle to visit patients homes. Work Schedule: 7:00am - 3:30pm, Monday - Friday. Alternate tours may be considered. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact 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 cre…

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: Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.) 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. 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 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: 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. 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 Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 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-…

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/.