Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies, Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), and Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) eligibles.

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Major Duties include but are not limited to:

• Complete telephone -based Core Assessments in the Behavioral Health Lab (BHL) computer software system, including screening for behavioral and mood symptoms including suicide and homicide risk assessment.
• Completes telephone-based assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, and as appropriate, with family and significant others to obtain pertinent healthcare information.
• Clearly explains the need, purpose, and benefit of the Core Assessment to patients, along with the process of enrollment in BHL.
• Provides notable clinical observations about core assessments to PCMHI LIP, as appropriate.
• Completes telephone-based assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, and as appropriate, with family and significant others to obtain pertinent healthcare information.
• Provides patients with information regarding follow up and available services.
• Provides education of patients and their families in quality of life issues and improved healthy living choices.
• Utilizes standard screening tools including, but not limited to, PHQ-9, PCL, Blessed, Paykel, etc.
• Conducts day-to-day administrative duties including responsibility for appointment management for enrolled patients, data entry, and completed appointments for Psychology Service, VISN 17, and VACO performance improvement activities in support of the Primary Care Mental Health Integration program (PCMHI).
• Initiates correspondence with patients when unable to contact by phone (e.g. mailing letters, telephone calls, secure messaging).Provides notable clinical observations about core assessments to PCMHI LIP, as appropriate.
• Provides case management, as needed. Alerts referring PCMHI provider once Core Assessment is complete, provides summarized psychosocial data for PCMHI provider to review.
• Collaborates with the Clinical Psychologist and multidisciplinary primary care teams to provide up to date feedback; records appropriate, timely, and accurate clinical data in patients' electronic medical record.
• Conducts administrative activities related to PCMHI program operations and QM, utilizing CPRS and BHL to record patient documentation. May perform structured and semi-structured interviews and write reports that summarize findings.
• Receives and responds to BHL Core Assessments referrals/consults in a timely manner to conform to the policies and procedures of the BHL Care Management guidelines in Primary Care Mental Health Integration program.
• Maintains tracking patient data spreadsheet for continuity of care.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician (PCMHI-BH)/PD3834-O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/13/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Basic Requirement: The following are basic requirements for appointment as a Psychology Technician in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which all applicants must met.

• Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in an appropriate social or biological science, which included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours in psychology. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

In addition to meeting the basic requirements one of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position.

• Specialized Experience: One year of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. OR,
• Education: One full year of graduate study (18 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 1 year of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-7 level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Customer Service
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Oral Communication
• Self Management

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing, or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant for appointment. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation may also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to: the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules.

Light lifting (under 15 lbs.), light carrying (under 15 lbs.), use of fingers, both hands required, hearing (aid may be permitted), ability to independently perform physical exam as appropriated to position; emotional and mental stability, mostly sitting with some walking.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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 WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the 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.