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 Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Services Intensive Outpatient Clinic Provider, is aligned under the STARS Program Coordinator under Mental Health Product Line (MHPL). The incumbent functions as part of a multidisciplinary mental health team, conducts psychological and cognitive assessments, and diagnoses and treats veterans with a SUD through use of evidence-based practices. The provider in this position is expected to be trained in and use evidenced based psychotherapies for the treatment of substance use disorders and co-occurring conditions such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use Disorders (CBT-SUD), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure (COPE). The core of the incumbent's duties is assessment of SUD and outpatient service delivery including group, individual, and family formats. This position includes programming and services both within the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) as well as lower levels of outpatient care. Duties includes but are not limited to: Knowledge of substance use disorders (SUD) and co-occurring disorders including assessment, prevention, treatment planning, and evidence-based treatments. Incumbent must possess knowledge of specialized issues such as impact on relationships, the detoxification process for various substances, relapse prevention, and aftercare. Determines appropriate treatment or rehabilitation for individual patients. Recommends and assists the patient in setting standards of behavior and goals for evaluation of progress. Independently treats SUDs and co-occurring mental disorders through a variety of modalities and provides adjunctive interventions for treatment of mental disorders. Among the modalities provided are time limited, evidence based individual, family, and group psychotherapies Providing direct, concurrent, clinical care using established evidence- based practices for Veterans with SUD diagnoses. The specialist will provide a range of psychological interventions (individual, family, couples and group therapy) consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on evidenced-based treatments for SUDs. Evidence-based treatments to be provided to Veterans individually or in group format with appropriate documentation and measurement of effectiveness and Veteran response using clinical judgment and standardized assessment instruments. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. Serves as the Mental Health Treatment Coordinator (MHTC) for assigned veterans and conducts the duties of this role when indicated. Delivers services both in person and via video technology. Acts as an integral member of the Substance Use Disorders Interdisciplinary Treatment Team in coordination of patient care. Maintain relationships with staff that are conducive to a smooth functioning, multidisciplinary approach to service delivery. Work assignments may vary or require changes because of changing clinical needs. The work requires an ability to set and adjust short and long-term priorities and prepare schedules for completion of work Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. Maintains appropriate records, charting information necessary to ensure an accurate portrayal of the patient's activities, condition, and progress. Evaluates patient's records on a recurring basis to assess the current condition and progress. Recommends adjustments to treatment plan to treatment team. The Psychologist establishes and maintains effective relationships with colleagues to ensure full understanding of psychosocial factors affecting patients. He/she systematically establishes and maintains effective working relationships with all staff relative to Veterans care needs for the purpose of exchanging information, assessing needs, arranging referrals, resolving problems in services delivery, planning discharges and or developing new resources. Provides staff education on issues related to patient care as needed. Work Schedule: Monday -Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm (subject to changed based on needs of the agency) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 502-00412-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May Be Authorized EDRP Authorized: May Be Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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. English Language Proficiency Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. Education Requirement: You must 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. OR Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a re-specialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and b) the specialty in which you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for; OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship Requirement -You must provide a copy of your transcript, program information and completion date in your resume, or copy of current board certification to receive credit. You must 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. Licensure: Candidates must 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. You must provide an unexpired copy to receive credit. 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: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following: GS-11 (Entry Level): None beyond the basic requirements. GS-12 Level: at least 1 full year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the GS-11 level. Examples of experience include: diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may conduct research. They may be assigned to any program area. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs in their resume:1. Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations; 2. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies;3. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures;4. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties);5. 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. GS-13 Level: at least 2 addition years of experience, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level, as a professional psychologist that was obtained through employment as a psychologist or through participating in a supervised post-doctoral psychology training program that demonstrates. Example of experience includes: diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may conduct research. 1) active professional practice that was paid/non-paid employment and/or 2) a full, current and unrestricted license. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics associated with current psychology practice. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs in their resume::1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to a full range of patient populations.2. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.3. Knowledge of clinical research literature. Preferred Experience: Treatment of veterans and/or VA experience 2+ years experience providing psychotherapy and services related to alcohol and/or substance use Experience with couples and family therapy References: VA Handbook Appendix G18 February 7, 2018 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: Light lifting, under 15 pounds; Light carrying, under 15 pounds; Use of fingers; Walking .5 hours; Standing .5 hours; Hearing (aid permitted); Kneeling 1 hours

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Alexandria VA Medical Center 2495 Shreveport Highway Pineville, LA 71360 US
• Name: Rena Hairston
• Phone: 504-521-9608
• Email: [email protected]