Staff Psychologist-Suicide Prevention Coordinator

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
Selections from this announcement will be made without regard to Veteran's preference in accordance with the published OIG Determination of VHA Occupational Staffing Shortages FY 2023, dated October 03,2023.
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Duties
The Suicide Prevention Coordinator functions as the coordinator for care of Veterans at suicide risk and an advisor to the Mental Health Chief, facility leadership, program managers, and staff concerning suicide prevention strategies for individual patients and for the facility and Veteran community as a whole.
The major duties of the Staff Psychologist-Suicide Prevention include, but are not limited to:

• Provides psychological prevention services to patients at significant risk for suicide and other psychological problems.
• Provides services to the families of Veterans at risk for suicide.
• Provides consultation/education on suicide prevention to other services throughout the hospital.
• Provides clinical services through the use of tele-mental health/tele-home technology where available.
• Provides individual and group interventions to support patients that are coping with feelings of depression and other psychological problems.
• Awareness of screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depression and anxiety related disorders, as well as other mental health conditions, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches.
• Provides effective interventions with couples or families, when appropriate, to relieve relationship difficulties, and provides support to caregivers of Veterans with severe depressive disorders.
• Promotes communication/interactions between medical providers, patients, and their families to facilitate the medical treatment process.
• Tracks all suicide attempts and patients with serious suicide ideation at the SLVHCS through the use of the "Suicide Parasuicide Reporting Template". The coordinator will be placed as a co-signer or additional signer on the template in order to be made aware of all attempts and patients with serious ideation.
• Assures that all Veterans on the facility tracking list are being followed closely by the appropriate provider on a regular basis as determined by the coordinator and the provider.
• Tracks any no-show appointments by these patients and following up with the patient as soon as possible to reschedule the appointment.
• Disseminates, organizes and, where possible, conducts evidence-based training and promoting emerging interventions.
• May be involved in Psychology Training Program and Training Committee via presentation at Psychology Trainee or Service didactics.
• May contribute to the training of medical students, medical and psychiatric residents, nursing students, or other mental health trainees, by teaching occasional lectures and seminars and providing limited supervision for clinical practicum experience.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am- 4:30 pm, Tour of duty negotiable after selection.
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 629-00417-F, 629-00418-F, and 629-00419-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact Christopher.Billiot@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not 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 evaluation.
• 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: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
Education requirements:

• 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. 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.
    NOTE: The 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. OR,
• Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND
  
  • 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
  • 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: Applicants 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.

• 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 under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (c)(2)(B) 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:
GS-11- None beyond the basic requirements
GS-12-At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities (KSAs):
(a) Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
(b) Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.
(c) Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.
(d) Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).
(e) 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.
GS-13-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:
(a) Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.
(b) Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.
(c) Knowledge of clinical research literature.
Preferred Experience:

• Providing evidence based care for a variety of diagnoses in a general mental health setting.
• Proficiency with differential diagnosis.
• Ability to use measurement based care to advance treatment.
• Use of shared decision making for treatment planning.
• A commitment to understanding and utilizing research to guide decision making.

References: A Handbook 5005/103, Part II Appendix G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
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: The work of this position is sedentary in nature and performed in an office setting. It requires the applicant to work closely with others, light lifting (under 15 pounds), light carrying (under 15 pounds), and the ability to hear (hearing aids permitted).
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 employe...