Clinical Psychologist HBPC/Outpatient

Veterans Health Administration • Iron Mountain, MI

2d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is in the Mental Health Service, with a joint assignment to Outpatient Mental Health and the Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program. HBPC provides comprehensive, interdisciplinary primary care in the homes of veterans with complex, chronic, and disabling diseases. Its services include primary care interventions, palliative care, rehabilitation, disease management, and care coordination, particularly for veterans with advanced chronic disease who are at high risk of recurrent hospitalization or nursing home placement.

The psychologist serves as the HBPC team’s primary mental health provider, delivering mental health assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation. The role includes psychological and psychosocial assessments, diagnostic evaluations, crisis interventions, brief psychotherapy, and care management. The psychologist determines patients’ needs for evaluation and intervention, provides or arranges appropriate individual and group psychotherapy, and refers patients when specialized expertise or privileges are required. The psychologist works with multidisciplinary treatment teams to support effective treatment planning and may provide consultation to other Medical Center Services.

The position also involves responding to testing requests and consults, selecting and administering appropriate psychological measures, and assessing cognitive, emotional, personality, and behavioral conditions. Assessment findings must be documented, and raw data retained in accordance with VA regulations and Mental Health Service policy. The psychologist may provide technical and administrative counseling to mental health staff and student trainees on therapy, diagnostics, and research.

The position is not virtual. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with ad-hoc telework as determined by agency policy and the supervisor. The work is primarily sedentary, though it may involve walking, bending, standing, or carrying light items. The full performance level is GS-13.

Requirements

• Doctoral degree in psychology from an APA-, PCSAS-, or CPA-accredited program in a specialty consistent with the assignment; qualifying alternatives include an approved respecialization program or certain doctoral degrees awarded between 1951 and 1978.
• Successful completion of a professional psychology internship meeting the stated accreditation or VA-recognized criteria, unless an applicable stated alternative applies.
• Full, current, and unrestricted doctoral-level license to practice psychology in a U.S. State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia, subject to the stated grandfathering provision for eligible current VHA employees.
• At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, including at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.
• Ability to provide professional advice and consultation related to professional psychology and behavioral health.
• Knowledge of clinical research literature.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical examination and, if selected for a testing-designated position, pre-appointment urinalysis.
• Must meet applicable background/security investigation, onboarding, identification, and application-document requirements.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to the conditions described in the announcement.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary mental health provider for the HBPC team.
• Provide mental health assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation.
• Conduct psychological and psychosocial assessments, diagnostic evaluations, crisis interventions, and brief psychotherapy.
• Provide care management services for HBPC patients.
• Determine patients’ needs for psychological evaluations, specialized evaluation procedures, diagnostic procedures, and individual or group interventions.
• Provide indicated therapeutic, diagnostic, or evaluative interventions within the scope of professional privileges; refer patients when specialized expertise is required.
• Use psychological measures to assess cognitive, emotional, personality, and behavioral conditions and answer referral questions.
• Respond to requests and consults regarding psychological testing and provide appropriate diagnostic assessment.
• Document assessments and retain raw data in accordance with VA regulations and Mental Health Service policy.
• Integrate care with multidisciplinary treatment teams to support treatment planning for veterans.
• Provide technical and administrative counseling to mental health staff and student trainees in therapy, diagnostics, and research.
• Serve as a mental health consultant or resource person to other Medical Center Services, as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), subject to eligibility and approval, with an award of up to $200,000 over one to five years.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered for higher or unique qualifications.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including annual leave, sick leave, and paid Federal holidays.
• After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting.
• Federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to request and approval.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree