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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Psychologist applies professional psychological diagnostic methods and evidence-based intervention strategies to a full range of patient problems in the MH setting. The emphasis is on serving Veterans with serious and complex mental health conditions by reducing psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal barriers to recovery and compliance with medical regimens. Duties include screening for psychopathology and cognitive deficits; triage for mental health care to appropriate VA or community agencies; psychological, cognitive, and capacity assessments; psychotherapy and some case management; and health promotion and prevention-oriented services. Mental health treatment and prevention-oriented services will emphasize evidence-based and best practice approaches. The individual will also provide interventions to help patients manage behavioral factors associated with behavioral medicine problems that promote medical compliance

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities:

• The Psychologist functions as a primary mental health professional providing mental health prevention, assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation services. This individual may also provide coverage in other geriatrics and extended care settings. Specific duties include:
• Providing screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depressive and anxiety-related disorders, as well as other Axis I conditions, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches.
• Assessing and providing treatments for subclinical symptoms of dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, and excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs (for which the patient may have a lower-than-normal tolerance due to their medical conditions and the potential for negative interactions with prescribed medication).
• Providing psychological prevention services to patients at significant risk for psychological problems.
• Providing services to the families of Veterans with dementia, 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. For example, family members may be trained to better manage behavioral problems associated with dementia; such training may allow the team to reduce use of psychoactive medication as a means of controlling behavioral problems.
• Providing clinical services through the use of tele-mental health/tele-home technology.
• Providing screening for cognitive deficits to address specific functional questions or to determine if a referral for a complete neuropsychological evaluation or dementia assessment is needed.
• Performing capacity/competency assessments when there are questions about a patient's ability to make medical decisions, perform other specific functions, or live independently.
• Assessing patients' understanding of advanced directives and other forms of consent and assisting staff in determining how to present treatment options and other such material to patients in a format they can understand.
• Other Duties As Assigned

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Compressed/Flexible: May be available

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): 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

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: Situational Ad-hoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #:53356-A, 53357-A, 53358-A

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

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.
• You may be required to serve a trial period.
• 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 (
  https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
  Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

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.

English Language Proficiency. Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English.

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 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.

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.

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, 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.

Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.

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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry)

Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.

Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental)

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:

1. Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.

2. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.

3. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.

4. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).

5. 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.

Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance)

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:

1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.

2. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.

3. Knowledge of clinical research literature.

Preferred Experience: None

References: VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO)

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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

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: