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Ability to provide services in both inpatient and outpatient settings from initial to follow up care. A primary function of this psychologist will be to assist with covering provision of therapy resources to Veterans who's provider is unavailable such as due to call offs as well as conduct initial intake evaluations. Provision of services maybe in a variety of formats such as individual, groups, couples, and family via telehealth modalities. They may develop comprehensive treatment plans. The psychologist has knowledge of the recovery model, and integrates it in the treatment of Veterans experiencing mental illness. They develop and document clear treatment goals that are thorough, include measurement based care and based in recovery. The incumbent develops and implements clinical procedures that balance clinical demand and therapeutic resources, resulting in successful meeting of performance measures and strives to continually improve clinical systems. They are responsible for timely completion of all clinical record keeping and documentation required by the Behavioral Health Service and Medical Center, as appropriate.

Provides psychological evaluation and assessment: The incumbent performs evaluations of Veterans with a variety of psychological, mood, and personality disorders. The assessment is integrated it into an overall plan of care in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others, whenever possible. The goal of the assessment is to determine the Veteran's treatment needs to address highlight the Veteran's strengths presenting symptoms and to , limitations, and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the effectiveness of these treatments. The assessment requires a structured diagnostic evaluation and integration of patient self reported symptoms on relevant clinical measures. It is the responsibility of the incumbent, working within the interdisciplinary treatment team, to develop a treatment plan with the Veteran based on this assessment. Incumbent possesses the advanced practice skills to independently make a clinical mental health diagnosis and offer psychosocial interventions, and then measures outcomes to interventions. Evaluations are completed in a comprehensive and timely manner. The psychologist may be called upon to complete compensation and pension examination

Performs consultation and trainings. The psychologist consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. They serve as a consultant to other medical center staff as requested and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients, especially in the area of complex patients . The incumbent may provide clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training, including trainees seeking licensure in psychology. They may be involved in training of medical students, medical and psychiatric residents, and other graduate and post graduate trainees, as appropriate.

Crisis Intervention: The psychologist is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs when needed. The psychologist has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis.

Administrative responsibilities may include assistance with management of therapeutic consults.


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.

Recruitment inventive may be authorized for highly qualified candidates.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm ***Tour of duty may change based on the needs of the Medical Facility

Virtual: This is a virtual position.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/05/2023.

Basic Requirements:
Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
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 respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization program) meeting 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 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.

Internships
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;
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.
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.

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.

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.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS
Creditable Experience: To be creditable, psychological work experience can be obtained through paid or non-paid employment providing psychological work or through participating in a supervised postdoctoral psychology training program (i.e., fellowship or residency). Psychological work experience must have occurred after the doctoral degree was obtained and must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional psychology practice.

Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level.

Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following:

GS-13 Staff Psychologist (Full Performance, Level)
Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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.

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Physical Requirements: Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, light lifting under 15 pounds, light carrying, under 15 pounds. Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, Standing and/or sitting. A pre-employment physical examination is required for selected candidates.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

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, resume, 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.