Psychologist - PTSD

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:
  • 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.
  • Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a respecialization program, OR (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization 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. 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
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• 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. 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: 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.

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
Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-12
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. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
• Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.
• Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.
• Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).
• 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
Experience: At least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level. AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 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.

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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Responsibilities:

At the GS 11 level, the following clinical activities are expected in the assignment:
CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ability to diagnose mental disorders
• Ability to conduct psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments
• Ability to treat mental disorders through various therapeutic modalities
• Ability to provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders
• Practice under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist

ENRICHING ELEMENTS
Academic/Teaching/Training:

• Provides clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training
• Participates in psychology training program
• Provides leadership, guidance, and psychological consultation to staff of units to which assigned
• Participates in training of medical students, medical and psychiatric residents, nursing students, and other graduate and post-graduate trainees as appropriate
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in conceptualization and formulation of psychological components and appropriate treatment expectations for patient care

Other Significant Responsibilities

• Serves on medical center or healthcare system, VISN, and/or national VA committees or taskforces
• Represents psychology on decision making committees for the medical center or health care system
• Actively participates in leadership roles with local, state, and national professional organizations
• Represents the medical center at professional community-based group events and committees

At the GS 12 level, the following additional activities are expected in the assignment:

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides a full range of psychological services including use of the most appropriate psychodiagnostic assessment and psychotherapeutic techniques in providing high quality clinical care
• Performs psychological evaluations to a variety of patient populations
• If unlicensed, the individual must be supervised by a licensed psychologist and the experience and supervision must meet the standards for psychology licensure
• Designs and implements effective treatment strategies
• Incorporates new clinical procedures where appropriate

ENRICHING ELEMENTS
Academic/Teaching/Training:

• May hold faculty appointments at affiliated university

Research/Program Evaluation

• May oversee the establishment of program monitors, measurements, and outcomes within areas assigned or as requested using data driven quality assurance processes
• Performs 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
• May plan and oversee completion of personal research projects/programs designed to provide information regarding programs, systems, and treatments
• May present research or other data at VA and regional or national scientific or professional meetings
• May assist in preparation of RFPs and grant proposals as assigned

At the GS 13 level, the following additional activities are expected in the assignment:

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides a full range of psychological interventions specific to clinical area and specialty
• Provides clinical supervision for non-licensed psychology providers
• May serve in a supervisory or program manager role and assume appropriate ancillary duties
• May provide collateral supervisory duties primarily for non-professional staff although a small number of professional staff may be supervised as well (e.g., less than three)
• May be assigned to any program area and may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities
• Independently provides psychological services at all levels of complexity and consults with peers and supervisors as appropriate
• Clinical care and supervision must meet the standards for psychology licensure and ethic

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #:PD21W42A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact VISN2EDRPCoordinators@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required