Psychologist - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Fredericksburg (VA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

The Fredericksburg Health Care Center, part of the Central Virginia VA Health Care System, seeks a psychologist to provide psychotherapy services within the BHIP program. The incumbent conducts initial screenings and delivers evidence-based therapies for PTSD, mood and anxiety disorders, and co-occurring conditions.

Candidates must hold a doctoral degree in psychology from an APA/CPA/PCSAS-accredited program, be licensed or eligible, and perform assessments and crisis interventions under

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in psychology from an APA/CPA/PCSAS-accredited program.
• Licensure as a psychologist in the United States or eligibility for temporary/conditional licensure.
• Experience with evidence-based psychotherapies for mood, anxiety, PTSD, and COMORBID conditions.

Responsibilities

• Conducts initial screenings and intakes for Mental Health Treatment.
• Provide a full range of psychotherapeutic interventions, including crisis intervention and outpatient psychotherapy.
• Treats mood disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD, substance use, and co-occurring conditions.

Skills

Clinical Psychology

Psychotherapy

Assessment

Crisis Intervention

Education

Doctoral degree in Psychology

Job description

Summary

The incumbent in this position has a primary responsibility for the provision of psychotherapy services through the Mental Health Clinic Behavioral Health Intervention Program (BHIP) at the Fredericksburg Health Care Center (FxHCC) - located in Fredericksburg - Virginia which is part of the in the Central Virginia VA Health Care System.

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
• 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
• 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
• 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.) 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: GS-11 Staff Psychologist (Entry Level): Experience
• None beyond the basic requirements
• GS-12 Staff Psychologist (Developmental Level): Experience
• At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11)
• Examples of qualifying experience include: Diagnosing mental disorders - conducting psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treating mental disorders through a variety of 6 modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders - and may conduct research
• 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
• 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
• Examples of qualifying experience include: Diagnosing mental disorders - conducting psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treating mental disorders through a variety of modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders - and may conduct research
• 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
• Preferred Experience: VA Experience as Intern or Military Psychologist 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: The job requires sitting - walking - standing - and bending
• Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office and/or home space.

Duties

• This is an Open Continuous Announcement
• Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available
• Applications will remain on file until October 28 - 2026
• Applicants will remain active for 3 months after their initial application is received and/or updated
• After that time - you must update your application through your USAJobs account if you would like to be made active again for possible consideration during the open period
• If selected at entry level - duties will be under supervision until fully licensed
• Major duties include - but not limited to: CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES (90%) 1) Conducts initial screening and intakes of Veterans referred for Mental Health Treatment - including PTSD and Substance Use Disorders
• 2) Within the scope of privileges granted - incumbent provides a full range of comprehensive psychotherapeutic interventions - including crisis intervention and outpatient individual - couples - family - and group psychotherapies for mood disorders - anxiety disorders - PTSD - substance misuse - and co-occurring disorders - with an emphasis on time-limited evidence- based and evidence-informed approaches
• Clinical services provided may include such