Staff Psychologist (CLC)

The VA Long Beach Healthcare System (VALBHS) is seeking a CLC Staff Psychologist to serve within the Mental Health 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.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Citizenship.
Citizen of the United States.

Education.
The individual must meet at least one of the requirements 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. 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.
  • 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

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.
  • NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.

Licensure.
Applicants 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.

Board Certification.
Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.

Grandfathering Provision. 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:

GS-12 Graduate Psychologist

• Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must possess at least one year of creditable experience as a professional (postdoctoral) psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) AND can demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • 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.

GS-13 Staff Psychologist

• Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must possess at least two years of experience as a professional (postdoctoral) psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level AND can demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • 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 psychology and behavioral health.
  • Knowledge of clinical research literature.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit Psychologist Qualification Standard.

The full performance level of this position is 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 12 to 13.

Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds); light carrying (under 15 pounds); reaching above shoulder; hearing (aid permitted); emotional stability. The Staff Psychologist should be capable of prolonged movement and be physically capable of reading patient records/reports, documenting all clinical encounters in the patient computerized record system (CPRS); and to speak/communicate clearly and efficiently in English.

Responsibilities:

VA Careers - Mental Health Professionals: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOMintJXa3Y

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 your start date. 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. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions/assistance.

Primary job functions include the provision of direct psychological patient care and consultation services for various CLC neighborhoods and units. The CLC psychologist will work closely with interdisciplinary teams to address psychosocial stressors and mental health needs of Veterans who require skilled nursing needs, physical rehabilitation, are in the process of securing long-term placement, or are in our hospice unit for end-of-life care. Common psychology referrals include requests for individual psychotherapy, family education/support, cognitive screens and brief neuropsychology assessments, capacity evaluations, and behavior management support. The CLC psychologist will also provide education/support to medical teams on dementia, mental illness, and other topics in mental health. Long Beach VA has a robust psychology training program, and the CLC psychologist will play an active role in the clinical training and supervision of pre-doctoral students/interns and/or post-doctoral psychology fellows.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Providing a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental heal disorders.
• Providing education to patients, family members, and significant others.
• Providing comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy.
• Developing, implementing, and documenting the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients.
• Assisting the Mental Health Care Group Chief and/or Chief Psychologist in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.
• Attending and participating in administrative and informational meetings held by the Chief Psychologist and Psychology Training Director, as applicable.
• Once licensed, providing clinical supervision and instruction for assigned psychology trainees.

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Preferred Experience:
The ideal candidate will have prior experience in geriatric rehabilitation, palliative and hospice care, and dementia care, and demonstrate a commitment to providing evidenced-based/informed psychological services in these settings. We are open to applicants from a diversity of training backgrounds, as this work is applicable to those with training in geropsychology, health psychology, rehabilitation psychology, and neuropsychology.

Work Schedule: TBD based on agency needs
Compressed/Flexible:May be authorized at Supervisory discretion.
Telework: May be authorized at Supervisory discretion.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
EDRP Authorized: Yes

Salary : $126,164 - $200,000