Summary This Psychologist position is assigned to a 20-bed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PTSD RRTP) in the Eastern Colorado Health Care System. The PTSD RRTP is a specialty care residential treatment program for Veterans with PTSD from military service. The PTSD RRTP falls within the Acute and Residential Programs Mental Health Section of the Mental Health Service. Responsibilities 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. 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. Learn more This Psychologist position is assigned to a 20-bed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PTSD RRTP) for Veterans within the Mental Health and Behavioral Science Service. The psychologist provides a full range of psychological services to Veterans in the PTSD RRTP. A complex spectrum of specialized psychosocial care, including evaluation, treatment, and case management, is provided within the MH RRTP bed sections at VA ECHCS. Veterans receiving care in the residential treatment setting traditionally have complex health care and psychosocial problems and needs, requiring a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. The Psychologist will work as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team that provides care to Veterans with a range of psychosocial issues, including chronic PTSD and substance abuse. Clinical responsibilities for this position include: Performs evaluations for patient conditions that include PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and general emotional and cognitive functioning. Generates interpretive summaries of Veterans' condition for use in Recovery Planning. Writes Veteran-centered recovery/treatment plans Provides assessment and care that accommodate the cognitive, emotional, chronological maturation, and diversity needs of the person served. Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions with a strong emphasis on evidence-based models of care in the residential rehabilitation setting. Conducts assessment appropriate to individual patient with attention to on the implications of test results for a Veteran's every day, real-world function and successful treatment/management of health problems with an emphasis on behavioral health factors associated with homelessness. Provides group, individual, and family psychotherapy and counseling to Veterans and family members as indicated through assessment process. Provides psycho-education to patients and family members to support healthcare adherence and relapse prevention. Works closely with the interdisciplinary team to achieve patient's outcome goals. Works with Interdisciplinary team to coordinate the care of the person served. Consults to ambulatory care staff and primary care providers on a wide variety of patient care issues pertinent to medical treatment and psychosocial recovery. Consults and coordinates with community providers following HIPPA practices to support psychosocial recovery of the person served. Attends treatment team meetings and reports relevant details to the treatment team. Other duties may include: Provides clinical supervision to pre-doctoral practicum students in clinical/counseling psychology, pre-doctoral interns in clinical psychology, and post-doctoral fellows in clinical psychology. Supports activities of Psychology Training Program and participates in relevant educational seminars. Participates in improvement of clinical supervision skills with emphasis on Evidence Based Practice models. Provides training and guidance to other behavioral health staff. Participates in planning of measurement, gathering and analysis of outcome data to guide program evaluation and development. Implements program design and assists in clinical management of program staff as assigned. Assumes responsibility for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation. Maintains ongoing scholarly and self-education activities. Participates in psychology peer review. May have a faculty position at University of Colorado Denver or other academic institution Serves on committees as assigned. Preferred Experience: Training or Experience providing Evidence Based Psychotherapy Interventions for PTSD including Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy Work Schedule: M-F 8:00-4:30 p.m. May be required to work some evenings. Compressed/Flexible: May be available for highly qualified applicants Position Title/Functional Statement #:Clinical Psychologist/PD000000 and PD000000 EDRP Authorized: Yes Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. 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. 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 or 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. 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. 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 Determinations: GS-11: None beyond basic requirements GS-12: 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. 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: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. 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. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103 FEBRUARY 7, 2018 PART II APPENDIX G18 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. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. 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. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.
