This position is a psychology technician position in the Mental Health Service (MHS). The psychology technician assists the professional staff of MHS with administration and scoring of psychological tests. Performance of these tasks requires a practical understanding of some of the general principles, theories, methods, and techniques of mental health.

Duties

The psychology technician will contribute to provision of evidence-based care for veterans with a wide range of emotional and psychiatric problems including substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, depression, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, and neurocognitive disorders. Demonstrates the ability to operate equipment such as computers, recorders, or other specialized assessment equipment, as well as sufficient computer sophistication for purposes of data entry, scoring, and analysis. Prepares quantitative reports regarding program activity. This requires familiarity with computer-based data management and clinical outcomes data, including inputting collected data into appropriate secured database systems within established timeframes sot that it can be reviewed and analyzed by clinical staff. Orients Veterans to the purpose of screening and testing by talking to them individually or in groups. Provides timely, organized, and legible presentations of Veteran data, including behavioral observations, interview, and test results, for the supervising Psychologist, and presents tabular or graphic displays of data when requested. Assists in the training of psychology interns in the administration of psychological tests and training new staff in the use of the computer assisted mental health assessment system. Discusses with the psychologist relevant behavioral observations during testing, as well as preliminary interpretation of the validity and significance of test data. Is able to handle telephone calls according to customer service standards and understands how to manage crisis telephone calls. Is able to accurately collect, record, and report data for program evaluation and research purposes. Consistently communicates and treats customers (Veterans, visitors, volunteers, and all Medical Center staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Provides assistance to the professional staff of MHS in the administrative and scoring of psychological screenings and tests designed to assess various aspects of personality, intelligence, and adaptive functioning. Administers psychometric measures using phone and video telehealth modalities when deemed clinically appropriate by supervising psychologist. Completes testing and scoring within established time frames and provides relevant materials to the supervising psychologist. Demonstrates responsible organization and management of referrals in a manner to provide timely assessment and expeditious handling of priority referrals. Demonstrates sensitivity to Veterans with disabilities and adapts assessment approaches or procedures in a manner to meet any special issues related to these disabilities including visiting assigned wards to provide on-the-ward evaluations of Veterans who are unable to come to the outpatient clinic. Assists in the development and implementation of policies and procedures pertinent to the service, including quality assurance and program evaluation activities. This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - Current Facility and CBOC employees; 2nd Area of Consideration - VA Nationwide applicants; 3rd Area of Consideration - Other Status candidates. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8AM-4:30PM; subject to change based on the needs of the facility Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician/PD84326-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/28/2023. 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 a GS 7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 6. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above) Experience that involved the observation of and assistance in the application of techniques relating to behavior, capacities, traits, interests, and activities of either humans or, under laboratory conditions, animals. Experience may have been gained in connection with a program of research or direct services in psychology that gave a practical understanding of some of the principles, methods, and techniques of psychology needed to assist professional psychologists. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) AND Time-In-Grade, applicants must also meet the experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Prior experience with adults with mental health issues. Prior experience in mental health settings. Must be sensitive to Veteran behavior through training experience to determine test ability and report observation. Must be skilled in observing behavior to convey observations to other team members. Must possess interpersonal skills to be able to maintain a professional posture in relationships with Veterans and staff members. . You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationOrganizational StewardshipPsychological AssessmentTeaching OthersTechnical Competence 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is basically sedentary but requires walking to all parts of the Medical Center, as needed, since the psychology technician will be working with a variety of clinical and administrative services. 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

There is no educational substitute at this grade level.

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 GV Sonny Montgomery VAMC 1500 East Woodrow Wilson Drive Jackson, MS 39216 US
• Name: April Hightower
• Phone: 228-337-7346
• Email: [email protected]