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. 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. English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken & written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. 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. 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, & 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. OR Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology &, 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; &, 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 &/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 & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) OR (e) Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 & 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, & 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 GS12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care 4 only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. Grade Determinations: GS-11 (Entry Level) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. 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, & Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of & ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations. Ability to design & implement effective treatment strategies. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing & implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties). Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship & research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, & collaboration. 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, & Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of, & ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations. Ability to provide professional advice & consultation in areas related to professional psychology & behavioral health. Knowledge of clinical research literature. Preferred Experience: Licensed preferred, experience providing individual, couples, and group therapy, experience providing Evidence-Based Treatments. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 11 to 13. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor, as the position requires sitting, standing, & walking. Some travel may be required in order to attend trainings. The emotional demands can be stressful in working with high-risk for suicide veteran population & their families. A high level of self-awareness is essential. Work, divided between office & clinical settings, is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, & manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items. ["VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Psychologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf The incumbent serves as a fully qualified psychologist in the Mental Health Service. The incumbent has primary assignment as a therapist within a Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) team. BHIP functions as the outpatient mental health clinic & is one of the functional units providing psychological services to the VA at ECHS. Staff Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, & provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, & group psychotherapies. Staff psychologists offer Evidence Based Treatments & serve as an integral member of the BHIP team. They consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Duties & skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to: Diagnose mental disorders. Conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments. Treat mental disorders through individual, family, & group psychotherapy, utilizing Evidence Based Treatments. Perform formal & informal assessments for a wide variety of patient conditions & diagnoses, including mental illness, substance abuse & general emotional & cognitive functioning. Ensure the assessment & care provided accommodate to the cognitive, emotional, chronological maturation, & diversity needs of the person served. Provide a full range of therapeutic interventions with a strong emphasis on evidence-based models of care in the outpatient mental health setting. Conduct assessments appropriate to individual patients with attention to the implications of test results for a veteran's every-day, real-world function & successful treatment/management of health problems with an emphasis on behavioral health factors associated with improved quality of life. Provide psychoeducation to patients & family members to support healthcare adherence & relapse prevention. Work with assigned BHIP team to support optimum clinical care. Consult & coordinate care with community providers following HIPPA practices to support psychosocial recovery of the person served. Provide clinical supervision to health professions trainees & unlicensed psychologists. Support activities of the Psychology Training Program & participate in relevant educational seminars. Participate in improvement of clinical supervision skills with emphasis on Evidence Based Practice models. Provide training & guidance to other mental health staff, as directed & based on areas of expertise. Participate in program development tasks, as assigned. Participate in planning of measurement, gathering & analysis of outcome data to guide program evaluation & development. Implement program design & assists in clinical management of program staff, as assigned. Assume responsibility for timely completion of all clinical charting & documentation. Maintain ongoing scholarly & self-education activities. Participate in psychology peer review. May serve as faculty at local or other system-wide education & training conferences. Serve on committees or workgroups, as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact anthony.salas3@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary & regular salary increases. Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: 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. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, 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. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) & federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 54106, 54107, 54108"]

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