Staff Psychologist- Home Based Primary Care

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.

Duties

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This position is located in CODY, WY CBOC Clinic.

• Ability to independently work with Veterans and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems utilizing evidenced based treatments in an individual, group, and family capacity.
• Engages in information gathering, problem identification, diagnosis, treatment planning, implementation, evaluation and follow-up. Fully utilizes the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention using professional counseling practices.
• Makes professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendations for treatment planning and implementation.
• Conducts psychological and or neuropsychological assessments.
• Provides screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of cognitive deficits to address specific questions or to determine is a referral for a complete neuropsychological evaluation or dementia assessment is needed.
• Performs capacity/competency assessments when there are questions about a Veteran's ability to make medical decisions, perform other specific functions, or live independently.
• Assesses the understanding of advanced directives and other forms of consent and assisting staff in determining how to present options and other such material in a format they can understand.
• Provides psychological prevention services to Veterans at significant risk for psychological problems.
• Delivers services both in person and via VTel.
• Establishes goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced-based practices.
• Provides complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress.
• Provides mental disorder examinations based on competent, critical, objective and unbiased information.
• Diagnoses all mental disorders, including personality disorders using the most updated DSM.
• Completes intake assessments and biopsychosocial evaluations on an annual basis if needed.
• Serves as the Mental Health Treatment Coordinator (MHTC) for assigned Veterans and conducts the duties of this role.
• Communicates with and utilizes community agencies to facilitate treatment, discharge planning, and continuity of care.
• Coordinates care with other outpatient VA programs to include: SUD, MHICM, PCMHI, etc. as well as community based programs as appropriate.
• Ability to serve veterans as outpatients who often have severe crises, lack family or community supports, or have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support.
• Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
• Utilizes government vehicles to travel to veteran homes to complete clinical visits. Travel to veteran homes is expected and required within HBPC.
• The Psychologist enters all Veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates. This information must be entered in a complete, confidential, and professional manner to ensure information on the patient is shared with other VA staff. This information is to be reviewed on a regular basis.
• The Psychologist establishes and maintains positive working relationships with employees, volunteers, consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies.
• Attendance of all appropriate staff meetings (interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, departmental/section staff meetings, other committees as appropriate, etc.) is necessary.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30-4pm

Compressed/Flexible:Available

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 99256, 99255, 99253

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Aothorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact [redacted] for questions/assistance. Learn more

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorozed

Requirements

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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 December 28th, 2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. *** The initial cutoff date to review applicants will be on October 15th, 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 Citizenship

Non-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

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 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.

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, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of, and