This position is located in the Mental Health unit at the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Charleston, SC. The Psychology Technician works under the supervision of the Mental Health Recovery Program Coordinator with clinical supervision by a licensed clinical psychologist or psychiatrist who retains full professional responsibility for the findings, interpretations, decisions, recommendations and reports generated on behalf of patients.

Duties

The Psychology Technician supports the multidisciplinary treatment team and performs various duties to assist professional staff in the assessment and mental health treatment of patients. Duties may include but not limited to: Collects data and reports findings to the clinical supervisor as well as members of the multidisciplinary team. Assists professional staff in their daily duties; prepares documentation of care of patients. Administers, scores and evaluates a variety of psychological and neuropsychological tests and techniques to patients under routine observation of a professional staff member. Observes and notes significant behavior and modes of response and assesses whether any of these circumstances will invalidate or significantly affect data obtained. Combines and compares test scores and interview responses with established norms and presents factual data to be interpreted by professional staff members. Discusses tests with a psychologist, and multidisciplinary treatment team, which aids in determining appropriate course of treatment or disposition; recommends action on routine cases and routine problems having well known treatment; obtains further history or administering additional tests to assist multidisciplinary treatment team in reaching a definitive diagnosis and; recommends administrative/treatment plan options based on the final diagnosis. Participates in unit, departmental and/or facility quality improvement activities. Under the supervision of a professional staff member, may discuss patient care with health care providers within and outside the unit; discussion may include evaluation procedures, testing or treatment, providing education, instruction, etc. Participates in therapeutic containment when necessary. Monitors patients during routine and special observations including 1:1 and visual, when necessary. Plans and engages in education and training of less experienced psychology technicians and interdisciplinary team members. With supervision, plans and engages in patient education and training other staff. Presents recovery initiatives and focused information including but not limited to illness management and recovery, stress management, suicide awareness, assessment and prevention, and smoking cessation. Administers and scores anxiety and depression inventories, alcohol and drug use questionnaires, recovery measures and PTSD Checklists. Facilitates psychoeducation groups and actively participates in performance measures. Collects data and reports findings to the clinical supervisor as well as members of the multidisciplinary team. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: This is a full-time position (40hrs/week). Some tours require weekends. All psychology technicians are expected to share providing coverage for holidays. Available tours are as follows: Tuesday-Friday; Wednesday-Saturday; and Sunday-Wednesday. Compressed/Flexible: Psychology Technicians work compressed tours (4 days, 10 hrs). Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician/PD07967A, PD11027A, and PD80384A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily sitting, standing, walking, talking, light lifting or carrying (under 15 pounds) and use of computer and telephone. Strenuous physical activity is not required although the incumbent is expected to be able to with withstand challenges of working with individuals experiencing acute distress and living with psychiatric and physical illness and disabilities. Hearing (aid permitted).

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/08/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For the GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06; for a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07; and for a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: Basic Education Requirement: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in an appropriate social or biological science, which included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours in psychology. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) ~AND~ Grade Level Requirements: In addition to meeting the basis requirements, you must meet one of the following minimum requirements. NOTE: The experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable. The education must be supported by your unofficial transcript to be creditable. If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed. GS-07: Experience: One (1) year of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. At least six (6) months of such experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade (GS-06) in the Federal service, or one (1) year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-05) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as conducting assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent information regarding the patient's history, symptoms, cognitive abilities and willingness to participate in treatment of psychological disorders; maintaining and operating the computerized psychological assessment program; overseeing daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) OR Substitution of Education: One (1) full year of graduate study (i.e., 18 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 1 year of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-7 level. OR Superior Academic Achievement: Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) at the baccalaureate level in the qualifying curriculum detailed above is fully qualifying. Applicants who wish to apply under this provision must submit proof from their educational institution that they meet one of the criteria listed below. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and meet one of the following: 1.Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision; 2.A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; 3.A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; 4.Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp. GS-08: Experience: One and a half (1.5) years of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. At least six (6) months of such experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade (GS-07) in the Federal service, or one (1) year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-06) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as conducting assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent information regarding the patient's history, symptoms, cognitive abilities and willingness to participate in treatment of psychological disorders; assisting the clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols in accordance with defined procedures; maintaining and operating the computerized psychological assessment program; overseeing daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) OR Substitution of Education: One and a half (1.5) years of graduate study (i.e., 27 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 1.5 years of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-8 level. GS-09: Experience: Two (2) years of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. At least six (6) months of such experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade (GS-08) in the Federal service, or one (1) year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-07) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as assessing the patient's emotional functioning, psychosocial stress indicators, and physical adjustment; reviewing and summarizing pertinent psychosocial data for clinical psychologists; facilitating brief counseling and care management that may include behavioral therapy and psycho-educational group therapies; conducting assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent information regarding the patient's history, symptoms, cognitive abilities and willingness to participate in treatment of psychological disorders; assisting the clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols in accordance with defined procedures; maintaining and operating the computerized psychological assessment program; overseeing daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) OR Substitution of Education: Two (2) years of graduate study (i.e., 36 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 2 year of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-9 level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Psychological Assessment Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Computer Skills Teamwork Education and Training Patient Care For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. For additional Qualifications information, please see the Additional Information section.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Ralph H Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 109 Bee Street Charleston, SC 29401 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]