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. Learn more. 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. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. 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) 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. NOTE: Must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship 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 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. NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard. 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. 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. Grandfathering Provision: See VA Handbook as listed in the Education Section of this vacancy announcement. (May qualify for the Grandfathering Provision and is only applicable to current, permanent VA employees) Physical Requirements English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level) a) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level) a) Experience. At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties). Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship and research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, and collaboration. Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (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. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following 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. Assignment GS-13 - Practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. They may be assigned to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, Compensation and Pension, Vet Centers, and the VHA National Center for Organization Development. Psychologists 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. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions. Psychologists 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. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-18 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-13. Physical Requirements: This position is mostly sedentary and requires walking, kneeling, bending, standing, and light lifting. Light lifting, under 15 pounds; light carrying, under 15 pounds; reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, walking (1 hour), standing (1 hour), hearing (aid permitted), position is mostly sedentary. ["The incumbent is responsible for the provision of mental health and substance use disorder services and are embedded in the Primary Care setting at the Louis A Johnson VAMC. The psychologist will spend the majority of their time providing integrated care to patients primarily referred by the Primary Care Service although some time may be spent in the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic. Advocacy: The psychologist understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the Veteran/family. When appropriate and feasible, psychologist will educate and encourage the Veteran/family to advocate on own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Provides psychological treatment and services: The incumbent has knowledge of, and ability to apply, a wide range of professional psychological theories, evidence based therapies and assessment methods to a variety of patient populations. The should have specific knowledge and experience treating clients with substance use disorders. They provide a full range of evidence based therapeutic interventions in group and individual formats with an emphasis on integrated care. They 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, based in recovery, and utilize symptoms severity and intensity to inform treatment frequency. 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, substance abuse 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 presenting symptoms and to highlight the Veteran's strengths, 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. Performs consultation and training: The psychologist consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues, especially related to substance use disorder. 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. 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. Participates in meetings, committees or projects as assigned: The incumbent attends and participates in team meetings, organizational meetings, treatment planning meetings and assigned committees or projects. The incumbent may serve on the Medical Center, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces. They may represent the Behavioral Health Service on decision- making committees at the Louis A Johnson VAMC. 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. All other duties as assigned, pertaining to this occupation. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm\nCompressed/Flexible: Not Available\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 000000\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]