Staff Psychologist- Primary Care Mental Health Integration

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.
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: Applicants must 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. 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. 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
  • Doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a 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.
    • NOTE: Applicant 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. Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards. OR,
  • Doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

Licensure: Must 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.

• Exception. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.

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: 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)
  • Experience. None beyond the basic requirements above.
• Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level)
  • Experience.At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). (Experience at the GS-11 includes but is not limited to: diagnoses mental disorders, conducts psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treats mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provides adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may conduct research). AND
  • Demonstrated Knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) - In addition to the GS-12 experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
    1. Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
    2. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.
    3. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.
    4. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (Staff Psychologists with specified research job duties).
    5. 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.
  • Demonstrated KSAs. 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:Seeking experienced clinician comfortable in fast paced Primary Care environment to provide assessment and
treatment of various behavioral health concerns. Preferred experience working with electronic medical
records, MS Teams and tele-Mental Health services.
References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18- Psychologist Qualification Standard.
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.
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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.Employment Type: FULL_TIME