Clinical Psychologist (Ptsd)

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.
This job is open to

• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency
Open to the public.
1st Area of Consideration - Current Facility and CBOC employees. 2nd Area of Consideration - VA Nationwide applicants. 3rd Area of Consideration - All other eligible candidates. Selections from this announcement will be made without regard to Veterans preference in accordance with Office of the Chief Human Capital Office (OCHCO) Bulletin dated 9/28/2023.
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Duties
The Psychologist or whom this functional statement applies is assigned to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT) within Mental Health Service. This Psychologist functions as a member of the PTSD team and provides care to Veterans and is responsible for providing treatment services for PTSD patients as related to their experience of trauma.
Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for Veterans with PTSD and trauma history. The primary forms of service delivery will involve direct Veteran contact utilizing individual and group telehealth-based modalities.
• Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others.
• Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy appropriate to patient needs and desires, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy (e.g., Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), mindfulness training, stress reduction, and health behavior management groups, etc.) as indicated.
• Provides clinical supervision to psychology interns and post-doctoral fellows in areas related to behavioral health and social services provision to attain the goals and objectives of the PCT programs.
• Provides consultation to professional staff within VA Medical Center at Memphis and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.
• Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders.
• Assists the PCT coordinator in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs addressing the needs of Veterans with PTSD.
• Incumbent develops psychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment utilizing the Mental Health Suite.

Preference will be given to applicants with experience in Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm
Virtual: This is a virtual/remote position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact Nekitta.Cannon@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Requirements
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
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.
• 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.
• Education:
  
  • (1) 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. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology).
    
    • Please note: 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 isnot eligible for appointment.

OR

• (2)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:
  
  • The re-specialization program must be completed 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.

OR

• (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• AND
  
  • Internships:
    
    • (1) 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

• (2) 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

• (3) 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

• (4) 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

• (5) 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.
• 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.
  
  • NOTE: Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment.

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: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.
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.
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103, PART II, APPENDIX G18The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
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.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

• Benefits
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How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
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