Job opening: Staff Psychologist - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP)
Salary: $79 517 - 147 332 per year
Relocation: YES
Published at: Oct 19 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
The incumbent serves as a fully qualified psychologist in the Mental Health and Behavioral Science Service. The incumbent has primary assignment in the support of behavioral health services in the outpatient Mental Health Clinic and serves as a key member of the Behavioral Health Integrated Program (BHIP) team. The outpatient Mental Health Clinic is one of the functional units providing psychological services to the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center/Eastern Colorado Health Care System. Staff Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies. Staff psychologist offer Evidence Based Treatments and serve as an integral member of the Behavioral Health Integrated Program (BHIP) team. They consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities.
Major duties and responsibilities, include but are not limited to:
The assessment and care provided accommodate to the cognitive, emotional, chronological maturation, and diversity needs of the person served.
Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions with a strong emphasis on evidence-based models of care in the outpatient mental health setting.
Conducts assessment appropriate to individual patient with attention to on the implications of test results for a veteran's every-day, real-world function, and successful treatment/management of health problems with an emphasis on behavioral health factors associated with improved quality of life.
Provides group, individual, and family psychotherapy and counseling to veterans and family members as indicated through assessment process. -Provides psychoeducation to patients and family members to support healthcare adherence and relapse prevention.
Works with assigned Mental Health Clinic team and Behavioral Health Integrated Program (BHIP) team to support optimum clinical care.
Consults and coordinates with community providers following HIPPA practices to support psychosocial recovery of the person served.
Provides clinical supervision to pre-doctoral practicum students in clinical/counseling psychology, pre doctoral interns in clinical psychology, and post-doctoral fellows in clinical psychology.
Supports activities of Psychology Training Program and participates in relevant educational seminars.
Participates in improvement of clinical supervision skills with emphasis on Evidence Based Practice models.
Provides training and guidance to other behavioral health staff.
Takes on program development tasks as assigned. Participates in planning of measurement, gathering and analysis of outcome data to guide program evaluation and development.
Implements program design and assists in clinical management of program staff as assigned.
Assumes responsibility for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation.
Maintains ongoing scholarly and self-education activities.
Participates in research with relevant populations as opportunities arise.
Participates in psychology peer review.
May serve as faculty at local or other system-wide education and training conferences
May serve as primary investigator on research projects Works with local APA-accredited psychology programs to facilitate dissertation research in the areas of psychosocial recovery and improved quality of life for individuals who have mental health challenges.
Serves on committees as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m
Telework: May be available.
Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 54106-A, 54107-A, and 54108-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be 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: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.)
English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
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: 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.
OR
Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND
Internships (see below):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.
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.
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:
Staff Psychologist, GS-11 Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.
Staff Psychologist, GS-12 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. 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 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 Experience.
At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
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
References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18
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: Theworkinvolvesthephysicalactivitiestypicallyassociatedwithmobile basedmentalhealthpractice. The a high degree of patience and emotional control, due to the intrinsic nature of mental health practice.
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 Eastern Colorado HCS Denver
13611 E. Colfax Ave
Aurora, CO 80045
US
- Name: Sokhan York
- Phone: 801-584-1284 X3119
- Email: [email protected]
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