Staff Psychologist
What you'd do
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
Major duties
This Staff Psychologist position is in Mental Health services at the VA White River Junction Healthcare System located at the Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Rutland, Vermont OR Littleton, New Hampshire. Salary Range for Duty Station Selection: Rutland, Vermont: $74,678 - $138,370 Littleton, New Hampshire: $84,579 - $156,715 The psychologist will be a member of the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) team located in the General Mental Health (GMH) Clinic. The psychologist will provide integrated services for veterans diagnosed with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and other psychiatric co-morbidities (including Affective and Anxiety Disorders) who are seeking care in the GMH Clinic and serve as the liaison between the GMH Clinic and SUD programs. The GMH-SUD psychologist will provide direct clinical services including consultation, diagnostic assessment, risk assessment, evidence based individual and group psychotherapy, and treatment planning. The psychologist will also provide supervision and training of students (e.g., pre-doctoral interns, post-doctoral fellows, and psychiatry residents) as needed. The psychologist may also assist in psychiatric coverage of the Urgent Care Clinic. The psychologist complies with national and local performance measures, including timely screening and documentation requirements, and participates in various service, committee, and departmental meetings. Duties include but are not limited to: Provides a full range of therapeutic services and interventions in the General Mental Health Clinic, including psychiatric assessments and individual, and group psychotherapy. Selects and provides the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care, including evidence-based care for substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Completes intakes and makes appropriate treatment recommendations based on these interviews. Contributes to clinical service activities (e.g., urgent care, police evaluations, compensation and pension evaluations), as requested. Attends GMH/BHIP treatment team meetings and serves as a consultant to other treatment providers including those in the specialty programs for veterans with SUD. Completes administrative functions, including report and progress note writing, and attending staff and organizational meetings. Keeps informed regarding treatment and outcome research development in the areas of substance use and mental health (including Affective and Anxiety Disorders), and assists in the implementation or modification of existing treatments based on developments in these areas of practice. Answers clinic consults, coordinates patient care, and assists with tracking clinic data. Responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by local and national guidelines. Participates in recruitment activities for the psychology internship and fellowship training programs (e.g., application review, interviewing, and applicant selection). e. Serves as a consultant to other medical and mental health staff and trainees on issues related to addiction. Performs additional duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Telework: Ad-Hoc. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: F04883 for GS-11, F04884 for GS-12, and F04882 for GS-13 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Hannah Neilson at [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service. This position is a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
What you need to qualify
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 and 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. 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: (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. 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 (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 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. 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 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 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. 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). 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. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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. 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.
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