Staff Psychologist (PTSD Clinic)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Murfreesboro (TN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading healthcare team as a Psychologist specializing in PTSD treatment for veterans. This full-time role involves delivering evidence-based therapy in a supportive environment, collaborating with a dedicated team to foster trauma recovery. Ideal candidates will have a doctoral degree in psychology and a strong commitment to veteran care.

Benefits

Education Debt Reduction Program

Qualifications

• Must hold a full, unrestricted license to practice psychology.
• Experience as a professional psychologist for at least two years.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality, evidence-based PTSD treatment to veterans.
• Conduct diagnostic interviews and assessments.

Skills

Knowledge of psychological treatments

Professional advice and consultation

Knowledge of clinical research literature

Education

Doctoral degree in psychology

Job description

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 a complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Psychologist is located in the TVHS PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) as part of the Mental Health Care Line. The incumbent reports to the PCT Program Manager, or designee. The PCT is an outpatient clinic that primarily provides evidence-based PTSD therapy for veterans with PTSD across the lifespan. We are a cohesive team of therapists with a shared passion for trauma recovery, seeking an additional team member to join our innovative and growing PCT. Our team collaborates to foster a safe and culturally sensitive trauma-informed approach to support veterans of diverse populations impacted by complex trauma. This position is a full-time clinical role delivering weekly high-quality, evidence-based, time-limited PTSD treatment to veterans in the PCT both virtually and in person. There may be opportunities to be involved in our Accelerated Outpatient (massed treatment) track as well.

Other duties may include diagnostic interviews, assessments, consultation, and group psychotherapy. Shared decision-making and measurement-based care are also an integral part of the services we provide.

Psychologist job duties within MHCL include:

Requirements

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

• Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.)
• 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.
• 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:
  1. The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and,
  2. 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: 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.

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

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:

1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.
2. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.
3. Knowledge of clinical research literature.

Assignment: This is the full performance level for staff psychologists. At this level, psychologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. They may be assigned to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, Compensation and Pension, Vet Centers, and the VHA National Center for Organization Development. Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions. Psychologists consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities.

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Preferred Experience

Experience in Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Written Exposure Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Additionally, experience with Narrative Exposure Therapy and Adaptive Disclosure is also a plus.

Physical Requirements:

Physical demands of the work are generally minor and are generally sedentary in nature but may require occasional travel. Physical activity involves sitting, standing, walking, bending, stooping, climbing stairs, and carrying light items such as papers, books, or other supplies. The incumbent uses a computer and standard office equipment to complete tasks. The emotional demands can be stressful in working with the Veteran/Patient population and their families/caregivers. A level of self-awareness is essential.