Staff Psychologist

Clarification from the agency

Open to Current, Permanent VA employees of VISN 2, Legacy VISNs 6, 7, and 8. Applicant must live within a 50-mile radius of legacy VISNs 6, 7, or 8 and within 75-mile radius of a major VA Medical Center. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

This announcement is open to current, permanent VA employees of VISN 2, Legacy VISNs 6, 7 and 8. Applicant must live within a 50-mile radius of legacy VISNs 6, 7, or 8 and within 75-mile radius of a major VA Medical Center.

VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck

The Clinical Resource Hub (CRH) is a repository of clinical and administrative staff that serve Veterans Affairs facilities within a VISN. Staff within the CRH are expected to provide interprofessional services to VISN facilities that are underserved or experiencing gaps in clinicians due to the inability to match provider supply with demand. Services provided by CRH staff are conducted via virtual care.

The VISN 6 CRH provides comprehensive outpatient mental health and primary care services to Veterans throughout VISN 6 including 7 medical center catchment areas. Services are targeted to catchment areas and clinics that are experiencing access challenges or gaps in clinical services.

Services are conducted via multiple modalities, including telehealth to clinic and telehealth to non-VA sites. In addition to services that support underserved facilities within the VISN, the CRH provides support and coverage to non-VA sites of care under the Advancing Telehealth Through Local Access Stations (ATLAS) program, Clinical Contact Centers, and nationally to Telehealth Emergency Management (TEM) sites. The VISN 6 CRH also provides graduate medical training opportunities and support during systemic transitions (e.g., Cerner implementation).

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Psychologist diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies, and other interventions such as biofeedback, psychological hypnosis, and environmental interventions.
• Consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
• Staff psychologist may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities.
• Reports to the TMH Hub Psychology Program Manager, which in turn is under the direct supervision of the TMH Hub Chief, which in turn is under the direct supervision of the CRH Director.
• Functions in accordance with the policies, principals, professional ethics, and techniques of accepted Psychology practice to include the American Psychological Association, professional licensing code, and state law.
• Independently make use of guides in a creative flexible manner and must use sound judgment in selecting techniques or introducing new practices and methods, adapting these as necessary to fit the needs of the patient population with which he/she serves.
• This position is remote but may require travel between locations to assist with program supervision and oversight.
• At times, this position may also be responsible for providing coverage for other supervisors and programs.
• Conducts a full bio-psychosocial assessment of the Veteran with specific examination of current coping skills, emotion regulation, and support networks in place.
• Provides evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP) for varying mental health diagnosis.
• Utilizes measurement-based care by routinely and frequently using specialized outcome measures, such as the PTSD Checklist (PCL) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), to assess the effectiveness of treatment, drive clinical decision-making, and measure treatment outcomes.
• Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization.
• Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi- disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals.
• Assures that appropriate referrals to specialty programs, including community resources, are accomplished. This may include ordering the following consults: Mental Health Programs, (i.e., Substance Abuse, PTSD, Mental Health Intensive Case Management, Compensated Work Therapy, Homeless, and Day Treatment) Vocational Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care.

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Remote: This position is currently operating under an extension to the return-to-office requirement. That extension can be withdrawn at any time, at which point the employee would be required to return to the office.Applicant must live within a 50-mile radius of legacy VISNs 6, 7, or 8 and within 75-mile radius of a major VA Medical Center.
Functional Statement #: 00000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact Donnaye.Blanks@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.
• 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: (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
• 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.
• 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
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature, fulfilling 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.
• Board Certification: Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.

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 GS-13 Experience: At least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level. Examples of experience includes: Staff psychologists at this level diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may conduct research. AND, Demonstrated 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.

Preferred Experience: A minimum of two years of experience working within a Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP). Demonstrated proficiency in the implementation of at least two evidence-based psychotherapies into current clinical practice. Experience providing virtual Telemental health.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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

Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Psychologist must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the psychologist or others. Position requires walking throughout the clinic and/or Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.

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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• MISC
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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