Overview
General Mental Health (GMH) Psychologist role at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The incumbent works within the General Mental Health Team serving as a Clinical or Counseling Psychologist. Incumbent works closely with members of General Mental Health Team, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional mental health counselors, peer specialists, and nurses to provide assessment, psychotherapy, and mental health support for complex cases. The work is comprised of providing clinical services consistent with accepted standards of ethical and professional mental health treatment.
EDRP eligibility: The Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) is available for this position. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply. Program approval, award amount up to 200,000 dollars and eligibility period one to five years are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.
Responsibilities
* Clinical Responsibilities (85% of time) — will be completed under clinical supervision of a licensed psychologist if incumbent is unlicensed.
o Provides a full range of psychological assessment services including psychological testing when indicated and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients.
o Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy.
o Develops, implements, and documents the interdisciplinary treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients.
o Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
o Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the general mental health outpatient setting and the specific presenting mental health issues.
o Provides consultation services to professional staff within the VAMC-Atlanta and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.
* Academic/Teaching/Training (5% of time)
o Provides consultation and training to VAMC-Atlanta staff in the identification and management of common mental health disorders that present in an outpatient general mental health setting when indicated.
o May supervise pre-doctoral Psychology trainees, and may participate in the supervision of trainees in other disciplines, including medical and psychiatric residents assigned to the General Mental Health Team for rotations.
* Administrative/Program Evaluation/Outcome Measurement/Research (5% time)
o Assists the Clinical Director and Medical Director in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers.
o Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team.
o Assists in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.
o Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services.
o Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
o Complies with CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient checkout procedures such as entering diagnostic and procedure codes.
o Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Mental Health Service Line Director or designee and facility Director.
* Other Significant Responsibilities (5% time)
o May participate in hospital and/or Mental Health Service Line committee membership and/or ongoing special project assignments.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, flexible day tour
Telework: Ad-hoc is available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 58656F, 58657F, 58654F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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 I-9. 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.
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.
* English Language Proficiency Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.
* Education Requirement - You must have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association APA, PCSAS, or 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, have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a 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 you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are applying for; OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
* Internship Requirement - You must 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. Note: 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 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: Candidates 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. 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 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.
* Experience: In addition to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following:
o GS-11 Level: no additional experience beyond the basic requirement
o GS-12 Level: at least 1 full year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the GS-11 level, and demonstrate knowledge, skills and abilities including a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods; ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies; ability to incorporate new clinical procedures; ability to conduct research activities; ability to perform basic research tasks within an established research team.
o GS-13 Level: at least 2 additional years of experience, with at least one year at the GS-12 level; must have active professional practice and/or a current license and be able to demonstrate knowledge of professional psychology treatments, ability to provide professional advice, and knowledge of clinical research literature.
Notes: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.
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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
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. 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.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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