Job opening: Psychologist
Salary: $83 403 - 154 531 per year
Published at: Oct 12 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
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
Provides a full range of integrated psychological care to Veterans within a primary care setting, including integrated screening, psycho-diagnostic assessment, brief individual and group psychotherapies, evidence-based integrated psychotherapies, behavioral medicine, motivational interviewing, and other services. Produces timely, appropriate documentation of care in accordance with agency policies
Provides evidence-based psychotherapies tailored for use in PCMHI setting and supports others in training and implementation of these therapies.
Provides clinical support to medical services, such as through behavioral medicine interventions, psychoeducational offerings, and screenings for medical conditions (e.g., dementia).
Consults with health care providers of all disciplines regarding care for patients with mild-to-moderate mental & behavioral health disorders.
Collaborates daily with primary care staff, mental health staff, substance abuse therapists, social workers, and health care providers of other disciplines in support of patient care.
Completes administrative activities in support of patient care, such as treatment planning and documentation of care, including Columbia Suicide Severity Rating-Scale (C-SSRS), Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations (CSRE), MH Safety Plans, Suicide Overdose and Behavior Reports (SBOR)
May serve a a faculty member and member of training committee for facility's APA-accredited clinical psychology internship.
May provide training and clinical supervision to interns in the program. Contributes to meetings and faculty training associated with the internship.
May provide training and clinical supervision to trainees in other mental health disciplines, medical students, nursing students, and others, as assigned.
May develop and provide training to staff throughout the VAMC on VHA best practices and clinical practice guidelines for the treatment and management of Veterans with mild-to-moderate mental health problems.
Assists PCMHI Program Manager in developing, monitoring, and reporting on outcome and performance measures.
Assists PCMHI Program Manager with other administrative duties, as assigned.
As assigned, serves on Service, Medical Center, VISN, and/or National committees or task forces related to assigned program.
Fulfills other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Mon - Fri; 8AM - 4:30 PM
Telework: AD-HOC
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact
[email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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:
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 respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization program) meeting both of the following conditions:
The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and,
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
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 (pre1979) 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.
NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.
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.
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:
Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level)Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.
Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level)Experience. At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11).
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.
Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance, Level) Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level..
Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.
Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.
Knowledge of clinical research literature
Preferred Experience: Experience with veterans
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103 PART II APPENDIX G18
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS11 to GS13.
Physical Requirements: Must be able to meet the physical requirements outlined in VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
Education
IMPORTANT: 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 Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
4815 North Assembly Street
Spokane, WA 99205
US
- Name: Alonzo Brock
- Phone: 8139348261
- Email: [email protected]
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