Staff Psychologist - Recruitment/Relocation Incentive Authorized/EDRP Approved

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EDRP eligibility

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a licensed psychologist to join the PTSD/Clinical Team. The role involves evaluation, psychotherapy, and ongoing patient care within established clinical standards and VA policies.

The position requires a doctoral degree in psychology (APA/PCSAS/CPA-accredited) and current licensure or eligibility; it includes opportunities for involvement in education debt reduction programs and related benefits.

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in psychology from an APA/PCSAS/CPA-accredited program
• Licensure as a psychologist in the U.S. or eligibility for temporary/graduate status depending on state rules
• Experience with clinical psychology treatments and assessments

Responsibilities

• Provide psychological evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment to Veterans
• Deliver individual and group psychotherapy within approved practice scope
• Collaborate with medical teams to support holistic Veteran care

Skills

English proficiency

Licensure under VA

Clinical psychology

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

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. *HPTs who are on track to graduate/complete the requirements should respond as if they have met the requirements. Provide details in the narrative sections of the assessment.

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


• OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature


• AND Internship: 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: Candidates must 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 (a)(1)(D) 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 Experience: None beyond the basic requirements


• Assignment: Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed 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


• Assignment: Staff psychologists at this level diagnose mental disorders - conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders - and may conduct research


• 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 7 psychology and behavioral health


• Knowledge of clinical research literature.

Duties

• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This is an Open Continuous Announcement & will remain open until February 17 - 2027 - or until all positions are filled


• The first cut-off date is October 01 - 2026


• A Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized to highly qualified candidates


• Duties on the PTSD Clinical Team may include but are not limited to: This position is clinical and most of the time is dedicated to evaluation of Veterans and the provision of individual and group psychotherapy to Veterans of all eras


• Services will be face-to-face/in-person and via tele-mental health modalities


• The incumbent is knowledgeable and able to present complex - technical mental health information on co-occurring psychiatric disorders to diverse groups - who may have limited knowledge of the subject matter - in an effective manner


• They also regularly plan and implement treatment programs


• The incumbent administers and interprets a variety of psychological assessment tools


• Psychological interviews - testing - and assessment skills are utilized for a variety of patient conditions


• They are aware of complicating factors such as substance abuse/dependence - medical/neurological conditions - personality - and other psychological functioning factors - including the co-morbidity of substance abuse and psychiatric conditions


• The work requires General Clinical Privileges as a Psychologist


• The incumbent performs specialized treatment of complex multiple causations in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veterans - including making psychosocial and psychological diagnoses within approved Clinical Privileges or scope of practice


• The incumbent is knowledgeable and able to apply a wide range of professional psychological theories and assessment methods to a variety of patient populations


• The incumbent is able to develop coherent treatment strategies and effectively incorporate new clinical procedures


• The incumbent is knowledgeable of current research literature and has received training in evidence-based treatments relevant to the position (e.g. - Cognitive Processing Therapy - Prolonged Exposure - Written Exposure Therapy - EMDR)


• The incumbent uses their knowledge of advanced professional theories and techniques to provide a high level of service to a wide range of Veterans on the PTSD Clinical Team - including time-limited individual and marital/family therapy - process and time-limited group therapy - behavioral interventions - and psychoeducation in individual and group format


• The incumbent responds to patient crisis situations in a timely manner with the goal of assisting the patient to maintain a positive and effective relationship with the staff - family and other patients


• Providing Crisis Management - Suicide Risk Assessment and Safety Planning are a routine expectation of the role


• Patient and staff safety will take priority in any crisis


• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience


• 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: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position


• Functional Statement #: 56287F - 56286F - 56285F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized