Staff Psychologist -PC Mental Health Integration

About the role

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) - at the Western Branch CBOC. This position is aligned under the Primary Care Mental Health Integration Program (PCMHI) and Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL) Hub - which is administratively aligned under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service Line.

Responsibilities

• Provides immediate access to clinical assessment and appropriate collaborative care and treatment for those experiencing mental health symptoms or behavioral health issues.
• Provides individual and group interventions to support patients that are coping with health psychology presentations (e.g. - sleep - pain - adherence to medical regimen - adjustment to illness) - psychosocial stressors - grief or phase of life difficulties (e.g. - discrimination - stress management - coping with loss - transition to civilian life) - and mild-moderate mental health presentations.
• P Practices collaborative - stepped and measurement-based care - including appropriate longitudinal follow-up - to address common mental health and behavioral health conditions for the primary care population.
• Functions successfully as a member of a multidisciplinary team of medical and mental health providers and provides consultation about mental health diagnoses and appropriate treatment plans to professionals representing a variety of disciplines.
• Provides cognitive screenings to address specific functional and/or cognitive ability questions as indicated.
• Completes thorough risk assessments and follows mental health crisis procedures as indicated.
• May have secondary duties in other outpatient or inpatient medical settings - and other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Holds 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.
• Has 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.
• Has a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature - AND 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.
• Has 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 acceptable to the doctoral program.

Qualifications

• 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 programand - (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
• Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

Skills

• 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.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
• 37-50 days of annual paid time off per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year).
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
• After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child.
• Full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Pay

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Schedule

• Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday.