Career Center

The Psychologist (MHC) serves as a Mental Health Clinic (MHC) Staff Psychologist at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and member of the Hines Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP). Responsibilities involve Mental Heath (MH) assessment and intervention within Hines' MHC and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) and professional consultation services throughout Mental Health and associated specialty MH coverage areas. 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. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education: 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; (b) 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 Internship: (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. 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. 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: Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level) (a) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level) (a) 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. (b) 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 a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations. 2. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies. 3. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures. 4. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties). 5. 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 Staff Psychologist (Full Performance Level) (a) Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. (b) 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. Preferred Experience: Experience with a full range of proactive, integrated, comprehensive outpatient MH care that is recovery oriented and evidence-based, including: screening and assessing for psychopathology, cognitive deficits and problematic health behaviors; brief, short-term, and long-term psychotherapy in individual, couples, and group formats; and supportive therapy services for Veterans requiring a lower level of care and/or longer term assistance. References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18, Psychologist qualification Standards, dated 2/7/2018. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. 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: The work is sedentary and is usually accomplished while the employee is comfortably seated at a desk or table. Some walking and standing may occur in the course of a normal workday in connection with attendance of meetings and conferences, or while researching files. Items carried typically are light objects such as briefcases, notebooks, and data processing reports. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. ["The Psychologist will provide a full range of proactive, integrated, comprehensive outpatient MH care that is recovery orientated and evidence-based, including; screening and assessing for psychopathology, cognitive deficits and problematic health behaviors; brief, short-term, and long-term psychotherapy in individuals, couples, group formats; and supportive therapy services for Veterans requiring a lower level of care and/or longer term assistance. The ideal incumbent is experienced with evidence based therapies for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT). Mental Health assessments and treatment services will be provided in both face-to-face and tele mental health modalities, and will emphasize evidence-based and best practice approaches, provided education on Veteran recovery model. The psychologist has knowledge and skill in a full range of psychological services to include psychological assessment, diagnostic, and evidence based treatment services. The Psychologist has familiarity with the full range of DSM-5 clinical presentations and experience with associated evidence based psychological intervention for mild, moderate, and severe presentations. The Psychologist has generalist knowledge regarding Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, and Serious Mental Illness (SMI); and skill/experience with treating patients within a Veterans' Hospital MHC setting who may present with all forms of Mental Health and Behavioral Health concerns and comorbidities. The Psychologist has generalist psychology assessment and intervention skills, as well as some specialized experience with evidence-based care option(e.g., CBT, ACT, or IPT for Depression,; MI, CBT for insomnia; evidence based group protocols). The Psychologist has knowledge of through risk assessment and mental health crisis procedures and skill in leading interdisciplinary treatment teams in intervening in patient mental health crisis. The Psychologist provides individual and group interventions to support patients who are coping with health psychology presentations (e.g. sleep, pain, adherence to medical regimen, adjustment to illness), psychosocial stressors, grief or phase of life difficulties (e. g, discrimination, stress management, coping with loss, transition to civilian life), and mild-severe mental health presentations( e.g. Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Anger and SMI) The Psychologist has skill in providing cognitive screening to address specific functional and or cognitive ability questions. Experience in providing consultation about mental health diagnosis and appropriate treatment plans to professionals representing a variety of disciplines. Ability to provide education to patients, family members or patients, professional staff and trainees. Knowledge of most current clinical assessment and psychotherapy research literature as it pertains to areas of specialization and clinical privileges. Ability to communicate with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and with varying levels of understanding. Ability to demonstrate excellent customer service skills toward both patients and co-workers. Demonstrated ability to function successfully as a member of a multidisciplinary team of medical and mental health providers. Knowledge of cultural and individual diversity issues as they may apply to areas of specialization and clinical privileges. May have secondary duties in other outpatient or inpatient medial settings, and other duties as assigned. 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. Learn more Work Schedule: M-F, 8:00am-4:30pm. (Flexible administrative hours).\nTelework: Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #:000000\nEDRP Authorized: Contact Eva.Gennara@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]