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. 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

The psychologist serves as a staff psychologist for the Addictions Treatment Center at the American Lake Division of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. The psychologist's primary duties involve providing comprehensive clinical care to Veterans with complex psychosocial needs, including substance use disorders. CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES: (1) Provides psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a broad range of psychopathology receiving care within the primary care setting, including services for patients with complex psychopathology requiring advanced psycho-diagnostic skills. (2) Demonstrates expertise in using and contemporary interview and psychometric assessment methods for mental disorders and/or behavioral health conditions. (3) Provides education to patients and family members regarding mental disorders and best practices approaches to treatment. (4) Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the psychologist, which may include individual, family, and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation. (5) Provides consultation to health care providers about assessment findings and treatment plan for patients to ensure that care is coordinated, collaborative, and integrated within the Medical Center. (6) Develops, implements, and documents the mental health treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the psychologist. (7) Complies with all Service Line documentation requirements, including standards for timely completion of CPRS patient contact notes, use of required documentation templates, clinical reminders, treatment plans, and risk assessment protocols. (8) Adheres to all Facility and Service Line policies and practices for delivering clinical care, including but not limited to risk assessment and reduction practices for potentially dangerous behavior (suicide and violence), timeliness of care and access standards, professional conduct requirements, and CPRS documentation conventions. (9) Achieves minimal clinical workload expectations as established by the Service Line. (10) Assumes independent professional responsibility for their clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES (1) Assists the Team Leader and/or Program Director in the design, development, and implementation of clinical assessment and/or intervention programs. (2) Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team, established by the affiliated Team Leader, Program Director, and/or Service Line Leader. (3) Assists the Team Leader and/or Program Director in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. (4) Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services. (5) Complies with national and local performance measures and facilitates organizational success on these measures at the team level. (6) Complies with all Facility and Service Line policies and expectations concerning administrative practices, including but not limited to leave authorization, responding to Suspense items, and completing TMS educational requirements. EDUCATION AND TRAINING (1) Provides clinical supervision and instruction for psychology trainees (interns and/or postdoctoral fellows) assigned to the primary work setting. (2) Provides clinical supervision and/or training for medical residents, medical students, social work interns, or other trainees not enrolled in a psychology training program. (3) Provides leadership guidance and consultation to unit staff in the area(s) assigned. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., American Lake Division Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Title/Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Please contact the EDRP Coordinator @ [email protected]. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• 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
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel

Qualifications

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 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 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: (1) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, (2) 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 OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship. 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 ORVHA 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 for a period not to exceed two years. English Language Proficiency. Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English. Grade Determinations: GS-11 Staff Psychologist Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. GS-12 Staff Psychologist Experience. At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) which includes diagnosing disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may include research. 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 KSA's: 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 Staff Psychologist (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: Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health Knowledge of clinical research literature. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18, Qualification Standards for Psychologist. 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: Mental and Emotional Stability, working alone, protracted or irregular hours of work, working closely with others.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

[Transcripts must be submitted at time of application. Conferral of degree(s) must be stated on transcript(s). Unofficial transcripts(s) are acceptable].

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Hector Jebulan
• Phone: (253) 582-8440 X75538
• Email: [email protected]