The Psychology Technician is assigned to the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Program within the Behavioral Health Lab at the VA Outpatient Clinic located in Harlingen, Texas.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include, but may not be limited to: 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. Assess 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 actives 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. Monitors testing supplies, provide nomenclature to and notify their supervisor when it is time to reorder. Performs procedures such as telephone calls, interactions with patients and families, as required, and implements a telephone behavioral management protocol for the organization. Collaborates with the clinical psychologist to provide up-to-date feedback to and collaborate with members of the multidisciplinary primary care teams. Follows the guidance of manualized treatment protocols provided by the Behavioral Health Lab for conditions as mild to moderate depression, and problematic drinking. Utilizes a computer patient record system to record timely and accurate clinical data. Maintains and operates the computerized psychological assessment program. Participates in programs to assist with the training and education of medical, nursing, psychology, and social work students. Schedules patient appointments in compliance with applicable measures. Enters testing data into the Mental Health Assistant and Behavioral Health Lab software. Conducts day-to-day administrative duties. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following: ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: 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 meet the requirements of this position. AND BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Requires 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: You must submit transcript(s) (unofficial) with your application. Education cannot be credited without proper documentation. (Transcripts required with application) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunicationPsychological AssessmentTechnical Competence 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: Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing, or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant for appointment. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation may also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. Reasonable accommodation may include but is not limited to: the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules. 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 copy of your transcript(s) must be submitted with your application to verify you meet the basic education requirement.

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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

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]