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 (1 to 5 years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.) 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 Education and Internship. Education. 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, Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization 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, Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] Internship. 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 (pre1979) 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.) 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. Loss of Credential. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists. Board Certification and Loss of Credential. Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists 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 Requirements: Creditable Experience Current Professional Psychology Practice. To be creditable, psychological work experience can be obtained through paid or non-paid employment providing psychological work or through participating in a supervised postdoctoral psychology training program (i.e., fellowship or residency). Psychological work experience must have occurred after the doctoral degree was obtained and must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional psychology practice. "Professional psychology practice" includes but is not limited to the following psychology-oriented job duties: providing professional clinical services, conducting research, carrying out education and training activities, carrying out program evaluation activities, clinical consultation, supervision and administration Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level Part-time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a fulltime workweek. For example, a psychologist employed 20 hours per week, or on a half time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service Post-Doctoral Degree Fellowships. Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is considered to be creditable experience on a year-for-year basis
Total Rewards Brochure Psychologist: Psychology Career Flyer The Psychologist is part of Suicide Prevention National Telehealth Program in Tele-Mental Health within VISN 22 Consolidated Clinical Resource Hub (CRH). CRH is a repository of clinical and administrative staff that serve Veterans Affairs facilities within a Veterans Integrated System Network (VISN). Staff within the Suicide Prevention National Telehealth Program are expected to provide outpatient, evidence based, suicide prevention psychotherapy services (such as Safety Planning Intervention, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention, Problem-Solving Therapy for Suicide Prevention, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy) to Veterans across the VISN, and provide other services that align with suicide prevention needs (training, consultation, etc) and current/future Clinical Practice Guidelines. Services provided by the Suicide Prevention National Telehealth Program staff are conducted virtually, and Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) is the primary modality for treatment, which includes clinic-based telehealth and telehealth into the home. Employee can be from anywhere in the US, office will be assigned by Supervisor at your nearest VA Facility/CBOC or Federal Agency. Duties include, but are not limited to: Provides a wide range of care including: risk assessment and referral, intake/diagnostic and psychosocial assessments, comprehensive treatment planning, and evidence-based psychotherapy services with established protocols to Veterans at risk for suicide Engage in other suicide prevention related tasks and needs, such as training, consulting, and future suicide prevention initiatives Works closely with the Suicide Prevention facility-based teams and other Behavioral Health services (BHIP, specialty mental health, etc.) Provide clinical services in a virtual modality is expected. Virtual modality includes video telehealth, patient/provider secure messaging, telephone visits, review of electronic medical records etc Independently works with Veterans and their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems within the context of suicide risk Completes a current psychosocial assessment to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans Completes all reporting requirements set forth by SPP and CRH to including: Measurement-Based Care monitoring, Program evaluation, Quality management, Fidelity, efficacy, and outcomes measures, Training required for the position and delivery of care, Utilization of tools and resources related to reporting and evaluation Participates as a member of a Suicide Prevention National Telehealth Program treatment team and engages in active collaboration with Veterans and family as well as other interdisciplinary treatment team members, including Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists, Social Workers, RNs, Peer Support Specialists and Administrative Support staff, in the development and implementation Facilitates enrollment and discharge planning through collaboration with Veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate plans are executed in a timely manner. Also, incumbent will address treatment compliance and "no-shows" when needed with patients Serves as a liaison between Veterans and their families and VA and community resources in order to ensure thorough delivery of suicide prevention-related services Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits, specialty programs, and advance directives Must provide emergency/crisis intervention services to patients experiencing acute psychological crises to stabilize these individuals, providing evidence-based suicide prevention psychotherapies, assisting in referral arrangements for transfer to a psychiatric facility for inpatient care (taking into account locality demands), if necessary, and providing follow up care as needed, all occurring within the context of active treatment Maintains a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with professional standards, Joint Commission standards, and national standards, as outlined by the national SPP and in conjunction with VHA productivity standards Documents in the Veteran's electronic medical record and completes/updates a thorough assessment and treatment plan in VA's approved treatment planning tool Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm PST Telework: Not Available Functional Statement #000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Dean.Sitzler@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required