Clarification from the agency

Open to ALL US Citizens, including current Federal Employees, Veterans Health Administration (Agency) Employees, and West Palm Beach VAHCS (Facility) Employees. West Palm Beach Facility Employees will have first consideration.

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VA West Palm Beach Suicide Prevention Psychologists/Coordinators work with West Palm Beach VAMC behavioral health providers and community organizations to assist Veterans during times of crisis, ensure Veterans receive the health care and support they need.

The Suicide Prevention Psychologist/Coordinator (SPC) is expected to possess strong clinical skills to provide treatment for mental health disorders relevant to Veterans at risk for suicide. Range of care provided including risk assessment, referral, intake/diagnostic, psychosocial assessments, comprehensive treatment planning, and evidence-based psychotherapy services in a manner consistent with established protocols to Veterans at risk for suicide. Additionally, the incumbent will have opportunities to function as a coordinator for care of veterans at suicide risk, a consultant to the facility leadership, program managers, and staff concerning suicide prevention strategies for individual patients, the facility and veteran community. Services include assessing veterans for high risk for suicide, diagnosing mental health and high-risk factors related to suicide and suicide prevention, and providing treatment options. Tracks appointments and coordinates enhanced care as needed, educating providers, veterans, families, & members of the community about risk factors and warning signs for suicide. Engages in other suicide prevention related tasks & needs, such as training, consulting, and future suicide prevention initiatives. Incumbent works closely with the Substance Abuse Treatment Program and other Behavioral Health services to ensure a seamless transition to appropriate services for Veterans.

Clinical Duties:

• The incumbent must use a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complex factors of suicidality.
• Incumbent thoroughly reviews the medical record and previous psychosocial assessments when the Veteran is referred, consulting with the referring provider as needed, and will complete an assessment of current symptoms/functioning/needs and provide a thorough treatment plan when a Veteran engages in mental health services.
• Incumbent will provide evidence-based suicide prevention psychotherapies and interventions such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention, Advanced Safety Planning, Problem Solving Therapy for Suicide Prevention, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Incumbent will also provide crisis intervention within the context of treatment
• Assist in the management of patients enrolled at the facility that are identified as high risk for suicide, including conducting risk assessments, drafting safety plans, initiating health and welfare checks, and reviewing high-risk status.
• Contacts veterans who are flagged high risk and are non-compliant with attendance to scheduled mental health and substance abuse appointments.
• Follow up on all calls made to the Suicide Prevention Hotline from veterans who receive care through the West Palm Beach VA.- Provides group and individual interventions to patients in support of suicide prevention efforts.
• Provides additional support to the Suicide Prevention Program by tracking trending and assisting with specific data reports, data collection and data analysis for performance improvement. Administrative duties: Assists in the design, development, and implementation of clinical activities within the MH&BS service, to include program development.
• Adheres to operational policies and procedures established for MH&BS and Psychologist Section.
• Assists with the execution of on-going program evaluations and data-driven quality improvements projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. Complies with CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check-out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostics and procedure codes).

Major duties and responsibilities for Suicide Prevention include:

• Diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders
• Provide are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions
• Consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities

Work Schedule: Tour subject to change to meet agency needs and may be required to work after hours, weekends and holidays.
Telework: Available - as determined by the agency policy and as deemed necessary by the Service.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #:Staff Psychologist (Suicide Prevention)/PD000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact VISN8CCOE@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
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 Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel.

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
• 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.
• Education
  • 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. OR
  • Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re-specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re-specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship
  • 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: 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.

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 addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates.

Staff Psychologist GS-12 (Developmental Level)

• Experience: At least one (1) 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.

Staff Psychologist GS-13 (Full Performance Level)

• Experience: At least two (2) years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one (1) year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/103 Part II Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard.

Physical Requirements: Physical demands are generally minor, and the work is primarily sedentary in nature and usually occurs within climate controlled clinical and administrative settings. There may be occasional light lifting/carrying (15 pounds or less) requirements to relocate boxed materials from one area to another, equipment and room set-up, and ambulation related to physical inspections of facilities. The incumbent will be expected to successfully negotiate various functional requirements (i.e., lifting, ambulating, reaching above their shoulder(s), the use of hands or fingers, sitting, standing, repeated bending, using stairs or elevators, functional vision, clear speech, hearing, and emotional stability) and environmental factors (i.e., working independently and at times closely with others, moving about the campus for appointments and/or meetings) for the position, with or without adaptive devices, technology, or reasonable accommodations that are more thoroughly evaluated in the current version of Certificate of Medical Examination, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Optional Form 178 (OF178). Use of fingers may be required to operate computers.

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.

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.