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Psychologist (Readjustment Counselor)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Readjustment Counseling Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

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.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/29/2022 to 12/08/2022
Salary
$94,373 to - $122,683 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
San Juan, PR
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position for training/outreach events.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBFF-11730609-23-NMM
Control number
689931200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This job announcement is open to U.S. Citizens. Current VA/HPT and/or Federal employees should apply under CBFF-11730655-23-NMM

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Duties

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NOTE: Readjustment Counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker, Psychologist, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, and Marriage & Family Therapist. Each discipline is announced separately, and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.

The incumbent will be responsible for providing the following Vet Center services to eligible individuals. Incumbents must possess the knowledge and experience to independently employ therapeutic modalities of individual, family, marriage, and group intervention to enhance the readjustment of Veterans, active-duty Service members and their families. Functions and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Quality and Organizational Effectiveness: Define clinical and organizational quality. Clinical quality requires the incumbent to be able to define clinical quality within the context of Vet Centers and employ means to oversee and measure those activities.
  • Intake Screening and Assessment: Establish a therapeutic relationship sufficient for completing all required readjustment counseling intake procedures to include an assessment of risk for self-harm and psychosocial functioning.
  • Readjustment Counseling Goal Setting and Service Planning: Develop and periodically update an individualized readjustment counseling service plan that reflects a course of therapeutic and psychosocial interventions, inclusive of outcome measurements.
  • Direct Counseling Service Provision: Will implement the individualized counseling plan through an appropriate course of individual, group, marriage and/or family readjustment counseling.
  • Risk Assessment and Crisis Intervention: Will apply risk assessment procedures during the initial assessment and periodically throughout the planned course of readjustment counseling as required and appropriate.
  • Care Coordination: Will establish and maintain a network of community care relationships, internal and external to VA, to coordinate access to readjustment counseling through community referrals to the Vet Center, and to ensure that eligible individuals receive the full spectrum of services to support their readjustment that are outside the scope of readjustment counseling.
  • Coordinating Readjustment Counseling and Outreach: Will maintain active coordination with Vet Center outreach workers to ensure seamless referral to Vet Center services for those individuals engaged in the community at outreach events that may require follow-up readjustment counseling.
  • Team Cohesion and Coordination: Actively participate in Vet Center staff meetings designed to promote team building and staff development through conjoint planning and problem solving, staff discussion of problematic cases, coaching and mentoring new Vet Center staff hires, and addressing issues of staff self-care.
  • Documentation/Administrative Responsibilities/Consultation: Will document all clinical interactions with eligible individuals and episodes of care coordination on their behalf as required by RCS policy.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm; some evenings and weekends may be required based on the needs of the Vet Center.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: Psychologist/ FS #00000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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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

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SPF)- This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The selective factor for this position is:

  • Must be proficient in in written and spoken Spanish.
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.
  • Education: Candidates must meet one of the following:
    • 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 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: 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: Candidates must meet one of the following:
    • 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 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.
Grade Determinations:

GS-13
  • Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level to include experience 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 may also include research.
In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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: Working with combat veterans in providing family counseling services; working with veterans who were sexually traumatized/harassed while in the military; conducting psycho-social assessments and the provision of processing psychotherapy for trauma related conditions; and implementing treatment plans for combat Veterans/and their families.

References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is at the GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. It may require some lifting (10-20 lbs.) occasionally. Reaching above shoulder; Frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day); Sitting (4-7 hours per day); Walking up to 6 hours per day); Standing (up to 8 hours per day); Infrequent climbing/descending of stairs; Some bending; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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.

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