Job opening: Psychologist
Salary: $84 459 - 156 496 per year
Published at: Sep 17 2024
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. Program 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 Psychologist (Local Recovery Coordinator-LRC) has the responsibility to lead the transformation of local VA mental health services to a recovery-oriented model of care, to help sustain those changes over time, and to support further systemic change as new evidence becomes available on the optimal delivery of recovery-oriented mental health care. The LRC is to lead, educate, model, and consult regarding recovery services, principles, and behaviors. Veteran-centric, recovery-oriented care is the hallmark of all mental health services in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
Major duties include, but are not limited to:
The LRC is the leader of the facility Mental Health Summit planning committee.
The LRC is responsible for the implementation and ongoing mission of the Re-Engaging Veterans with Serious Mental Illness in Treatment Program (SMI Re-Engage).
The LRC collaborates, and offers consultation as appropriate, with the Inpatient Mental Health, the local Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC), Evidence Based Psychotherapy (EBP) coordinator, Military Sexual Trauma (MST) coordinator, Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) Coordinator, Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) coordinator, Transition and Case Management (TCM) coordinator, Women Veterans Program coordinator, Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) Program coordinator and other Therapeutic Supported Employment Services(TSES) staff, Mental Health Intensive Case Management Program (MHICM) coordinator, Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI), Peer Supports, VA-sponsored residency and training programs, local Vet Centers, and any other special population point of contact ensuring access to integrated, recovery-oriented MH services for all Veterans.
The LRC is a member of the local Mental Health Executive Council and routinely participates in VISN and national LRC conference calls, retreats, and/or conferences.
The LRC provides on-going education to Veterans and family members about recovery transformation in VHA MH services (including access to available services). Additionally, the LRC provides on-going training and consultation to facility staff about psychosocial rehabilitation, recovery transformation, and recovery-oriented services.
The LRC participates as requested in activities that support Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation in CWT, MH Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP), Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers (PRRC) programs and other MH programs as appropriate.
The LRC functions as a Licensed Independent Practitioner (LIP).
Duties may be assigned to areas of the facility consistent with a focus on serious mental illness (e.g. Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center; Inpatient Mental Health, MH-Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program).
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Available on an Ad-hoc basis.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000 - Psychologist
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
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.
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 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. 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.
English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
Employees grandfathered under this provision for this revision may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions or beyond the assignment currently held for those being grandfathered to assignments above FPL.
Psychologists who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
Psychologists initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
NOTE: If psychologists who are grandfathered under this provision leave the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following:
Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level): No additional experience beyond the basic requirement.
Staff Psychologists, GS-12 (Developmental Level):
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.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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 (Full Performance Level):
At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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.
Preferred Experience: Experience working with Veterans who have serious mental illness.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
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.
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 Coatesville VA Medical Center
1400 Black Horse Hill Road
Coatesville, PA 19320
US
- Name: Rodney Stewart
- Phone: 412-651-6213
- Email: [email protected]
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