This position is in the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Program, located within the Behavioral Health Lab, at the Corpus Christi VA Outpatient Clinic in Corpus Christi, TX. The Psychology Technician involves a high level of competency in both clinical and administrative duties and provides distal support to the PCMHI programs at sites located in Corpus Christi, McAllen and Laredo.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties include but are not limited to: Responsible for the day-to-day administration of the screening and testing program; Conducts assessments 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; Assists the clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols in accordance with defined procedures; Assesses the patient's emotional function, psychosocial stress indicators and physical adjustments during treatment activities; Facilitates counseling, behavioral therapy and psycho-education group therapies; Utilizes a computer patient record system to record timely and accurate clinical data; Performs specific data collection procedures including running data reports in a variety of databases, providing results and data analysis to clinical staff as directed; Collaborates with the clinical psychologist to provide programmatic treatment activities and educational presentations for the group(s) and will revise groups and classes as indicated; Provides individual support for patients as necessary, requiring utilization of a variety of programmatic treatment protocols, to include behavioral therapy, skills training and counseling theories and modalities; Follows the guidance of manualized treatment protocols provided by the Behavioral Health Lab for conditions as mild to moderate depression and problematic drinking; Collaborates with the clinical psychologist to provide up-to-date feedback to and collaborate with members of the multidisciplinary primary care teams; Utilizes a computer patient record system to record timely and accurate clinical data; Maintains and operates the computerized psychological assessment program; Schedules patient appointments in compliance with applicable measures; Monitors testing supplies, provides nomenclature to and notifies their supervisor when it is time to reorder; Enters testing data into the Mental Health Assistant and Behavioral Health Lab software; Performs many specific data collection procedures including running data reports and provides results and data analysis to the clinical staff as directed; Conducts day-to-day administrative duties; Participates in programs to assist with the training and education of medical, nursing, psychology and social work students; and, Performs all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position at the GS-5 Level, you must meet the following: English Language Proficiency Requirement: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to perform the duties of this position. ~AND~ Basic Education Requirement for GS-0181: Applicants must possess a Bachelor's degree (or higher) 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. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: TECHNICAL COMPETENCE COMMUNICATION PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Requirements: The work of the position is primarily sedentary but may at times require walking, standing, stair climbing, bending, stooping and carrying of lightweight items such as documents, manuals and books, but typically the person in the position may sit comfortably to do the work. Hearing and distinct speech are essential due to extensive use of the telephone and in-person communication as a means of transmitting information. Must possess manual dexterity to enter computer information. Mental concentration to meet critical deadlines is also essential. The work of the position is performed in an administrative setting, which is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. Will observe normal safety precautions. 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/.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application for the Basic Education Requirement. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

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 TX Valley Coastal Bend HCS 2601 Veterans Drive Harlingen, TX 78550 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]