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. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. Responsibilities Functions: Clinical: 80% Provide a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and use the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care. Provide a full range of therapeutic interventions. Provide evaluations for wide array of patients representing diverse diagnostic entities. Provide clinical services through all modalities including video or telehealth technology. Provide screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depressive and anxiety-related disorders, as well as other conditions, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches. Assess and provide treatments for sub-clinical symptoms of dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, & excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs (for which the patient may have a lower than normal tolerance due to their medical conditions and the potential for negative interactions with prescribed medication). Provide psychological intervention services to patients at significant risk for psychological problems. Provide individual and group interventions to support patients that are coping with feelings of grief and loss associated with disability and other life transitions. Provide behavioral medicine interventions to manage pain, disability, address sleep problems, facilitate weight loss, promote smoking cessation, and enhance medical compliance. Provide effective interventions with couples or families, when appropriate, to relieve relationship difficulties, provide support to caregivers of veterans with dementia or other significant frailty, and/or promote collaboration with the HBPC team, for the benefit of the veteran. At all times, the necessity for and benefit of the intervention for the veteran should be documented and included as part of the veteran's treatment plan. Facilitate transition and adjustment to new living situations (e.g., nursing home, assisted living facility), and providing seamless intervention services, as appropriate. Collaborate with the HBPC team in suicide risk assessment, management, and prevention activities, as well as assessment and management of other behavioral safety concerns including elder abuse or neglect, domestic violence, or other behaviors putting Veterans or caregivers at risk of harm. Provide services to the families of veterans with dementia being served by HBPC, when such care is directly related to the overall treatment plan for the veteran and will allow better care for the veteran and allow the family to sustain the veteran in the home environment. For example, family members may be trained to better manage behavioral problems associated with dementia; such training may allow the HBPC team to reduce use of psychoactive medication as a means of controlling behavioral problems. Academic/Teaching/Training: 5% Provides clinical supervision to Interns, Fellows, and Practicum students in primary HBPC rotations. Contributing presenter at monthly HBPC learning seminars. Provides consultation to various disciplines and levels of training. Provides leadership guidance and consultation to staffs of HBPC team to which assigned. Is involved in the training of medical students, medical and psychiatric residents, nursing and nurse practitioner students, fellows and other graduate or post-graduate trainees, as appropriate. Administrative: 10% Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization. Serves on Psychology, service line, medical center, VISN, and/or national VA committees, task forces or rotations, as assigned. Represents Psychology and Home-Based Primary Care on decision-making committees at the medical center, as assigned. Research/Program Evaluation: 5% Oversees the establishment of program monitors and outcome measurements within programs assigned using a data driven quality assurance processes. Responsible for the timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the medical center and service line. If applicable, plans and oversees the completion of personal research programs, designed to provide information regarding program planning and relevant treatment approaches. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday-Friday Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements 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. You may be required to serve a trial period. 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 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). Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov 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: (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. 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. 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. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) 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. 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. 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 temporary appointment as a graduate psychologist at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 USC 7405 for a period not to exceed two years of 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. 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-11 (Entry Level) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. 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: 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 (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: 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. Assignment: This is the full performance level for staff psychologists. At this level, psychologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. They may be assigned to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, Compensation and Pension, Vet Centers, and the VHA National Center for Organization Development. Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions. Psychologists consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities. Preferred Experience: Previous home care experience is beneficial. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The 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: Please see details in the Education section below. Education Physical Requirements continued: Environment comprised of office, vehicle and non-institutionalized settings; travel is required to rural and urban settings: (veterans' homes), occasional virtual visits to homes via telemedicine equipment, driving distances of approximately 50 + miles at times, etc. Subject to both environmental conditions: Activities occur inside and outside. Telework may be available for some charting times; but most of time will be spent in HBPC offices or in veterans' homes. Position requires current drivers' license to operate a government vehicle while performing job requirements of making visits to veterans' homes. Physical requirements of position are ability to sit/drive in vehicles for several hours at a time, visual acuity to read maps, judge distance, read road signs, spend extended hours in front of a computer screen, or listen carefully to others on the telephone and occasionally drive vehicles for moderately extended periods of time. Ability to lift 20-30 lbs., navigate medical equipment bag and laptop to non-institutional settings. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.