Staff Psychologist RecruitmentRelocation Incentive EDRP

VA Careers - Psychologist: Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a Highly Qualified Individual.

The Organizational Location of the Position is: Telemental Health Team Mental Health Service VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) Dallas TX.

The Primary Purpose of the Position is: To serve as the Staff Psychologist on an interdisciplinary outpatient mental health team (Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Team (BHIP) in which the employee conducts a variety of outpatient services including provision of evidence based psychotherapy (individual group and couples/family psychotherapy) and completion of psychological screenings and evaluations aimed at serving the needs of Veterans. The responsibilities also involve providing consultation to other disciplines. Duties include but not limited to:

• Serve as a Staff Psychologist to provide a full range of therapeutic interventions for a MH outpatient team including time-limited individual therapy couples/family therapy process and time-limited group therapy and psychoeducation in individual and group format. Cognitive and behavioral therapy approaches are used most frequently with an emphasis on time-limited evidence-based treatments.
• Knowledgeable of current research literature and has received training in evidence-based treatments relevant to the position and engages in measurement-based care where clinically appropriate.
• Administer and interpret a variety of psychological assessment tools. Psychological interviews testing and assessment skills are used to work with Seriously Mentally Ill patients and a variety of other patient conditions. He/she is 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.
• Ability to use a variety of modalities to treat mental disorders and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders and crisis management.
• Respond 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. Patient and staff safety will take priority in any crisis.
• Provide suicide risk assessment and safety planning as needed. This includes providing triage services for patients at elevated risk of harm to self or others.
• Consult with medical center staff regarding various patient care issues. As such it is necessary that the incumbent communicate and interact well with other disciplines and treatment providers.
• Engage in all team related activities including attendance of team/program meetings monthly Psychology staff meetings and main overall compliance with Psychology peer review procedures.

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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• 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.

• 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.

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.

The Primary Purpose of the Position is: To serve as a consulting psychologist for a variety of medical/ surgical teams in which the employee conducts a variety of brief cognitive/ psychological assessments and brief problem focused treatment interventions.

Basic Requirements:

United States Citizenship: You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job

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: To be qualified for a GS-0180 Psychologist you must possess 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 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 Requirement - You must 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.

• Holds a full and unrestricted license as a psychologist in a US State or Territory.
• Experience providing crisis intervention safety planning and case management services.
• Training and clinical experience in evidence-based psychotherapy.
• Experience providing mental health care in a virtual/telemental health modality.
• Experience providing mental health care to a Veteran population.
• Experience using psychological assessment instruments to assist with diagnostic assessment.