Staff Psychologist - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Jacksonville (NC); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EDRP Education Debt Reduction Program

Telework eligible

Competitive federal pay

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a psychologist to join the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program, providing direct patient care, assessments, and therapy. The role involves collaboration with medical center staff, supervision, and program development.

Applicants must hold a doctoral degree in psychology, be licensed without restrictions, and meet VA internship/board certification criteria. Telework is eligible; standard federal benefits apply, with competitive pay and education

Qualifications

• United States citizen required per VA policy.
• Doctoral degree in psychology from APA/PCSAS/CPA accredited program.
• Current full, unrestricted license to practice psychology in the U.S.
• A valid internship and supervised experience per VA/KSA standards.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct psychological patient care and consultations.
• Develop treatment plans and conduct psycho-diagnostic assessments.
• Collaborate with medical center staff and participate in service meetings.
• Attend administrative and program development activities as assigned.

Skills

Citizenship

Licensure

English proficiency

Professional psychology internship

Education

Doctoral degree in psychology (APA/PCSAS/CPA)

Job description

Summary

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.

Qualifications

• United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Education (1) 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
• OR - (2) 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 - (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature
• AND (4) 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
• NOTE: 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 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
• 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
• 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 (Entry Level) Grade Determination Experience: None beyond the basic requirements
• GS-12 (Developmental Level) Grade Determination 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 (KSAs): 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) Grade Determination Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• ~AND~ 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
• ~AND~ Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs): 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: Psychotherapy experience in a federal setting
• Reference: VA Handbook 5005 - Appendix G18 - For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• 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.

Duties

• The primary job functions of the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) psychologist include the provision of direct psychological patient care - consultation services on difficult or complex cases - education of staff and trainee supervision
• Clinical Responsibilities (85% of time) Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and utilization of best practices in implementing psychotherapeutic techniques to provide quality care
• Provides psychotherapy as individual - group and/or family interventions are provided when clinically indicated/appropriate and when of therapeutic benefit to the recipients
• Emergency/crisis interventions are provided to patients in an effort to stabilize
• Must demonstrate the ability to engage in rapid assessments and develop crisis management plans
• Interventions are appropriate to the level of need and would involve a range of services including facilitation of transfer of care to the appropriate level based on patient need as well as referral to other VA resources or community agencies
• Develops person-centered and recovery-oriented treatment plans to address mental health needs of patients
• Conducts psychological evaluations to aid in the differential diagnosis and treatment planning of complex cases
• Provides consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues to include patient's decision-making capacity regarding health care
• Provides complies with national and local performance measures - including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients
• Administrative responsibilities: (5 to 10% of time) Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Chief of Service - Chief of Staff and Director (or duly appointed designees)
• Attends monthly Psychological Service staff meetings and complies with Psychology Service peer review procedures
• Participates on selection panels for mental health service line position vacancies as assigned by Chief of MHSL
• Participates in program development and evaluation activities as assigned
• Attends Medical Center standing committee meetings as per MHSL Chief - Chief of Staff and/or Director - and completes all related task assignments
• Completes assigned Performance Improvement activities at the program - service line - and medical center level Case Management Responsibilities: (up to 5% of time) Timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system - as appropriate
• Respond to patients request for release of records
• return telephone calls - linking of services - and appropriate referrals as needed in a timely fashion
• With permission from patient - collateral consultation with significant others/ support systems to aid in the facilitation of patients' treatment
• Attend treatment team meetings with designated professionals involved in the service delivery of patient's treatment
• Additional Responsibilities: (2% of time) Attends annual training programs sponsored by the VISN - VAMC and other APA recognized training programs to enhance knowledge - skills - and abilities in area of specialization
• Receive clinical supervision from a licensed Psychologist for all patient care in keeping with state licensing requirements until obtains independent licensure
• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Yes
• Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact [e-mail] - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and 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) and 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) Telework: Position is eligible for Telework - Ad Hoc
• May be authorized at Supervisory discretion
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized