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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. 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: Must be proficient in written and spoken English 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. 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. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. 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, 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: Work is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, and manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items such as books, files, or laptop computer. ["Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Occasional Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 01303F, 01304F, 01305F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized to highly qualified candidates EDRP Authorized: Contact V21CCOEEDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This Mental Health Integration (MHI) Clinical Psychologist position is administratively aligned with the Mental Health Service and is assigned as a co-located, collaborative and integrated care mental health provider in Pain Clinic. Provides brief, evidence-based interventions, education, and consultation services to Veterans, and education and consultation for Specialty Medical Providers and allied team members. The individual works collaboratively within this specialty medical clinic to promote prevention, brief assessment, early identification, and treatment of most mild to moderate mental health and health behavior concerns. Visits are generally brief, limited in number, and structured so that the Veteran and special medical team views meeting with the Psychologist as part of the specialty medical service. The Psychologist is fully integrated into the specialty medical clinic team, engaging in a variety of team-based activities, including huddles, meetings, case review, consultation, and education. Direct service delivery occurs via brief, focused interventions, with a large percentage of those being seen via warm handoff within the medical specialty clinic to ensure same day access. Provides functional assessment, triage, intervention, education, and consultative services regarding a wide range of possible concerns. Consistent with the VA Whole Health philosophy, the Psychologist promotes collaboration in support of the Veteran's Mission/Aspiration/Purpose and awareness of the mental and behavioral aspects of health and well-being. Utilizes a Population-Based Care and Public Health approach and maximizing the reach of services to as many Veterans as possible. Accepts referrals from Specialty Medical Providers and allied specialty team members and supports guideline-concordant treatment. Duties of the position include, but are not limited to: Collaborates with Specialty Medical Team members and others as appropriate to support high quality, effective, and coordinated service delivery at the patient and programmatic levels. Maintains daily open access slots and encourages same day warm handoffs within the Specialty Medical Clinic. Uses Measurement Based Care (MBC) in accordance with nationally recommended guidelines. Advances clinic capacity to complete (or coordinate to ensure the completion of) suicide risk assessments and intervention within the Specialty Medical Setting. Conducts initial functional assessments that are focused on the main reason(s) for referral and are less extensive than traditional mental health intake evaluations. Supports Stepped-Care principles to facilitate \"on-time, on target\" services to Veterans, matching the intensity of services with the level of clinical need. Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in Specialty Medical Setting. Provides time-limited, brief, evidence-based, individual or group interventions for a broad range of mental health and health behavior concerns within the Specialty Medical Setting, making exceptions as needed depending on Veteran need and disease-course. Utilizes intermittent visits and flexible patient contact strategies to support brief but longitudinal care as part of the Specialty Medical Team. Ensures quality of care by successfully completing the national VA trainings and associated ongoing education modules as well as attending Community of Practice calls. Utilizes the Whole Health approach in clinical practice, including connecting with the Veteran's Mission/Aspiration/Purpose to inform, plan and deliver clinical services. Notes are completed same day or within 24 hours. Provides education to Special Medical Team on mental health and health behavior issues, as well as tips to promote effective patient communication, motivational enhancement, and behavior change. Integrates self into routine workflow of the Special Medical Team and seeks opportunities to offer expertise or direct patient care services to support team-based care. May supervise Psychologist trainees in accordance with training program policies and accrediting agency requirements. May provide staff and student didactic training and consultation as requested in content areas of scholarly and/or clinical expertise. Actively participates in program evaluation required by the funding initiative for the position, and/or may participate in research activities as approved by supervisor."]

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