Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. NOTE: Due to a critical staffing shortage, 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to all external applicants for this job announcement.

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The Vet Center Psychologist is responsible providing professional clinical services to eligible veterans and family members. The incumbent is under the direct administrative supervision of the Director of the Vet Center and is expected to provide clinical services under the accepted APA guidelines for Psychologists. The work is comprised of providing clinical services consistent with accepted standards of ethical and professional mental health treatment. The incumbent also provides professional family therapy, crisis intervention, outreach and community education services as needed.

• Diagnoses mental disorders;
• Conducts psychological or neuropsychological assessments;
• Treats mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders;
• Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues;
• Provides individual, group and family psychotherapy;
• Conducts risk assessments of clients in crisis for suicidal and/or other violent and destructive behavior;
• Intervenes with clients and their families in acute psychological distress;
• Provides psychological counseling to veterans and family members with vocational, educational, physical and/or emotional problems;
• Provides readjustment counseling for veterans and their families who served in a war zone including assessment and treatment for PTSD;
• Serves as consultant to peers and non-VHA counseling staff;
• Serves as consultant and trainer for community organizations in the area of diagnosis and treatment of war zone veterans and families of these veterans;
• Conducts outreach activities to inform and educate veterans regarding Vet Center services;
• Determines appropriate referrals to VA Medical Center and other community agencies;
• Develops and maintains appropriate referral resources in the community;
• Performs administrative and clinical tasks as assigned by the Director of the Vet Center;
• Maintains case records in accordance with program guidelines and professional requirements;
• Conforms to legal and ethical standards of service delivery, privacy and confidentiality;
• Develops and maintain cooperative working relationship with support facility.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm with occasional weekends, and evenings
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact Annalyn.Mears@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: 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:
  • (1) 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,
  • (2) 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 must be consistent with the assignment for which you are to be employed; OR,
  • (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship Requirement:
  • (1) 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,
  • (2) 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,
  • (3) 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,
  • (4)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,
  • (5) 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 your official transcript, you 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: Applicants 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.

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).

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.
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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 Psychologist, GS-13:

• Experience: Applicants must have at least two (2) years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one (1) year equivalent to the GS-12 level
  • Experience may include diagnosing mental disorders, conducting psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treating mental disorders through a variety of modalities, providing adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and conducting research.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the 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.

References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18, February 7, 2018, Psychologist Qualification Standard GS-0180The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

This GS-13 is the full performance level.

Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 lbs.); light carrying (under 15 lbs.); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking (intermittent); standing (intermittent); hearing (aid permitted); hearing without aid. Intermittent Driving a Vehicle (-/+ 2 hours); The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for 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; 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.