Staff Psychologist - Outpatient Mental Health Therapist (OMHT)

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:
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. 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
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: 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
Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND
Internships (see below):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.
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.

Exception. 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.

Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education. 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 Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.

Staff Psychologist, 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. 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.

Staff Psychologist, GS-13 Experience.
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:

• 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: The work is primarily sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospital, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work.

Responsibilities:

As a psychotherapist, the incumbent provides services to Veterans, their families, and the interdisciplinary team regarding evaluation, identification, and treatment of psycho-social concerns and psychiatric diagnoses in the outpatient behavioral health setting.

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Duties include outpatient behavioral health services and crisis response to veterans with the full spectrum of mental health disorders including Serious Mental Illness, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, other mental health diagnoses and substance use disorders.
• The incumbent has working knowledge and experience in the use of mental health diagnoses and basic medical terminology. The incumbent independently identifies high-risk patients and implements appropriate safety protocols.
• The incumbent provides crisis intervention services and has working knowledge of referral process for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and residential PTSD, SUDS and other specialty programs, and provide Case management to coordinate a collaborative effort to meet the agreed upon goals for a Veteran's recovery needs.
• Must have advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex physical and mental illness.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Ability to determine priority for services and provide specialized treatment services.
• Must have advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations.
• Must have the ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty area, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills.
• Ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications.
• The incumbent is responsible to the Administrative Supervisor of the program area assigned but practices independently, exercising initiative and independent judgment in day-to-day activities.
• Supervision/ consultation is of an administrative and professional nature; with the Administrative Supervisor providing guidelines as to the general policies and program direction. In unusual and/or complex administrative and clinical problems, the incumbent initiates consultation with the Program Supervisor as well as with other authoritative resources at the Medical Center, such as the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Telework: May be available at the supervisor's discretion and the needs of the service.
Virtual: This position can be remote for highly qualified applicants.
Functional Statement #: 53527-O, 53528-O, and 53529-O.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized. .
EDRP Authorized: Contact Jeffrey.Young9@va.gov,, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Salary : $200,000 - $0