Psychologist-Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program

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.

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. 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. 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). OR;
(2) Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization 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:(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 (pre1979) 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. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) 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.

NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.

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.

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

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:

Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level):
Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.

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). Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 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 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 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 G18

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: Position requires performing activities including sitting, standing, walking, bending, carrying items such as books, papers, and files. Position may require traveling to various areas of the Medical Center and community

Responsibilities:

This position is located within the Psychology Service under the Behavioral Health department at the Boise VA Medical Center, Boise, Idaho. The incumbent serves as Staff Psychologist and is assigned to the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Team within the Behavioral Health Department.

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Provides psychological assessment, conducting evaluations of psychological functioning based upon available data, clinical interview, psychological tests and instruments, and other structured techniques;
• Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with an emphasis on evidenced-based interventions found to be effective with specific presenting problems;
• Complies with all medical record documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper check out procedures (e.g. entering diagnostic and procedure codes);
• Supports same-day access to mental health services for Veterans as deemed necessary by the service, in person, by telephone, and by video (e.g., VA Video Connect) modalities;
• Supports other treatment programs within the Behavioral Health Service with a full range of psychological services;
• Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues;
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees to assist in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding the Veterans they serve
• May provide direct clinical supervision, training, and oversight to various disciplines and levels of training, including trainees seeking licensure in psychology (e.g., psychology interns, psychology doctoral fellows);
• May provide training and clinical supervision to trainees in other mental health disciplines, medical students, nursing students, and others, as assigned.
• May be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities;
• May plan and oversee the completion of personal research programs, designed to provide information regarding program planning and relevant treatment approaches;
• May present outcome data and research results at VA and regional or national scientific or professional meetings;
• May assist in preparation of RFP's and grant proposals, as assigned.
• May serve on medical center committees or task forces as related to diagnosis, assessment, and/or treatment issues associated with the mental health programs;
• May represent the medical center at professional/program/community events and committees;
• May serve on service, medical center, VISN, and/or national committees or task forces related to assigned program;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Telework: Available on ad-hoc basis only.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact V20CompensatonTeam@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required