Staff Psychologist-PTSD

Staff Psychologists at this level diagnose mental disorders conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments treat mental disorders through a variety of 6 modalities provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders and may conduct research. They may be assigned to any program area. Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions for Veterans and other eligible patients through a variety of modalities including evidence-based practices and adjunctive interventions including but not necessarily limited to individual and group psychotherapy family therapy consultation rehabilitation and psycho-education.
• Diagnose mental disorders and conducts psychological and/or cognitive function assessments and neuropsychological screenings.
• Designs and implements effective treatment strategies as well as incorporates new clinical procedures when appropriate.
• Serve as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assist in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients.
• Perform basic research tasks of the scholarship and research execution within the context of established research team including research participant relations research documentation data acquisition maintenance and collaboration.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not eligible for telework.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 51963F (GS-11); 51964F (GS-12); 51965F (GS-13)
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: See Additional Information section below for more details. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public determining if your employment advances the public interest we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.

Education: You must meet one of the education requirements listed below:

• 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. 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

• 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

Internships: You must meet one of the following internship requirements below:

• 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 candidates doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicants 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: You must meet the licensure requirement below:

• 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 4 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). All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title series and grade held.

Grade Determinations:

Staff Psychologist GS-11 (Entry Level):
Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.

Staff Psychologist GS-12 (Developmental Level):
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 you must be able to demonstrate all of the following KSA:

• 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

Staff Psychologist 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.
Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above you must be able to demonstrate all of the following KSA:

• 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit 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 requires patience and emotional regulation. The work may require using appropriate techniques to physically restrain patients who present a danger to self or others. The work may also require assisting physically disables Veterans. Day-to-day work involves sitting walking standing and carrying light objects. Some of the work is performed in a setting away from the office where the environment cannot be controlled.