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.

Duties

Help

VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Clinical Responsibilities

- Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses as a result of a complete assessment, utilizing appropriate assessment tools, within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.

- Provides individual, group and family psychotherapy interventions used in the treatment of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, serious mental health disorders, and comorbid mental health needs

- Implements use of Measurement Based Care for measuring effectiveness of clinical practice and services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services.

- Demonstrates the ability to design changes based on empirical findings as well as to provide a flexible work schedule to accommodate emergency or urgent care matters.

- Ability to serve veterans as outpatients who often have severe crises, lack family or community supports, frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support.

-Evaluates the client's situation, including the veteran's reaction and ability to deal with it, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion.

- Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan involving the veteran and family or significant others.

- Assesses serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, and other high-risk diagnoses.

- Develops treatment plans in coordination with BHIP Team Members, including goals for treatment.

- Provides quality therapy by utilizing Evidence Based Psychotherapies (EBP) in the treatment of veterans served.

- Concludes the appropriate action, even in instances where actions can have serious impact on the life of the veteran.

- Acts as a community and family liaison by initiating and maintaining necessary contact with the patient, his/her family, VA Healthcare System service programs and personnel, mental health agencies, and other related resource agencies.

- Provides support and consultation to these varying individuals, programs, and agencies as necessary or in the best interest of the patient, following VA rules and regulations regarding confidentiality and the interchange of information.

Administrative Responsibilities

-Enters all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate/approved formats and templates.

- Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with employees, volunteers, consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies.

- Attends all appropriate meetings (interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, staff meetings, departmental/section staff meetings, other committees as appropriate, etc.)

- Collaborate in the performance improvement processes and comply with performance measures as required by the appropriate program offices and local policies.

- Completes the continuing education hours need for maintaining Professional Licensure.

- Demonstrates professional behavior that conforms to VA regulations and policy, State and Federal laws, and ethical codes of appropriate professional accrediting organizations.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May Be Authorized GS-13 only

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized:

, 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)

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: This position is authorized for telework - situational (ad hoc) and has NOT been authorized as virtual or remote.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 54722-A, 54721-A, 54720-A

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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 interest. In 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

***This is an open continuous announcement until August 24, 2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. *** The initial cutoff date to review applicants will be on June 22, 2026.

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 CitizenshipNon-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

Education

(1) 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 (2) 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. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] [OR (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND 2 (4) Internships (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. 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.

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.

Grade Requirements

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, 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 projec