Staff Psychologist

About the role

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. Program 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.

Responsibilities

Psychologists conduct psychological assessments, diagnose mental disorders, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities (e.g., individual, family and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions), provide adjunctive interventions for the treatment of medical disorders, and provide behavioral health consultation to providers on medical, mental health, and a variety of other patient care issues. Psychologists administer and interpret psychological tests, including but not limited to tests of ability, aptitude, achievement, interests, personality, cognitive functioning, and mental health.

Functions or scopes of practice

Conducts comprehensive psychological assessments and formulates diagnostic impressions using standardized and clinically appropriate methods.
Delivers evidence-based and evidence-informed psychotherapy for mental health, substance use, behavioral, and psychosocial concerns within granted clinical privileges.
Completes all required clinical documentation and charting in accordance with healthcare system timelines, quality standards, and accreditation requirements.
Provides clinical supervision to unlicensed staff and trainees, guidance and education to assigned staff in psychological service delivery.
Serves as a resource to other professional personnel by offering consultation regarding psychological services and treatment planning.
Offers education to patients, patients' family members, professional staff, and trainees on mental health conditions and treatment approaches.
Performs risk assessments for self-harm or harm to others and implements suicide prevention and crisis management procedures. Functions as a contributing member of multidisciplinary medical and mental health teams in inpatient, outpatient, or specialty care settings.
Participates in performance improvement and quality assurance activities relevant to psychological services and assigned clinical programs.
Abides by the ethical principles addressed by psychology licensing boards.

Qualifications

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:
(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.
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: (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
(3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
Internships:
(a) 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
(b) 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
(c) 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
(d) 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
(e) 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:
At the GS 13 level, the applicant 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.
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.