Staff Psychologist - Home Based Primary Care (HBPC)

Veterans Health Administration • Fort Wayne, IN

11h • Onsite

About The Position

The Staff Psychologist serves as a primary mental health provider for the Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) team. The position provides mental health prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, management, and professional consultation to Veterans and their families. Services include psychological assessments and a range of interventions, including educational, individual, family, couple’s, and group therapies, as well as adjunctive interventions for medical disorders. Practice is under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist when applicable.

Clinical duties include screening, assessing, diagnosing, and treating depressive and anxiety-related disorders and other Axis I conditions, with an emphasis on time-limited, evidence-based approaches. The psychologist also addresses subclinical dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, and excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs; provides prevention services to patients at significant psychological risk; and may collaborate with geriatrics and extended-care programs. The role includes home visits to Veterans within a 60-mile radius of the assigned campus, as required by the interdisciplinary treatment team.

Administrative responsibilities include peer review, consultation and referrals to multidisciplinary staff and specialty or community programs, documentation of patient visits, outcome measurement, and meeting productivity standards. Research responsibilities may include referring patients to clinical investigators, participating in studies, and integrating approved research methods and evidence of effectiveness into clinical practice. Education responsibilities include counseling and education for patients and families on health maintenance and disease prevention, promoting independence and optimal health, participating in staff and section meetings, and maintaining professional competence through training, literature review, and continuing education.

The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is not a virtual position; ad hoc telework may be available as determined by agency policy. The vacancy may be filled at GS-11, GS-12, or GS-13, with GS-13 as the full-performance level. The position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program, subject to individual eligibility and program approval.

Requirements

• Doctoral degree in psychology from an APA-, PCSAS-, or CPA-accredited graduate program, with a specialty consistent with the assignment; alternatively, a qualifying doctoral degree with an accredited re-specialization program, or a qualifying 1951–1978 doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution with a primarily psychological dissertation.
• Successful completion of a qualifying professional psychology internship consistent with the assignment, subject to the stated alternatives for eligible VHA internships, pre-1979 VHA internships, or board-certified applicants with non-accredited internships.
• Full, current, and unrestricted doctoral-level psychology license in a U.S. State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia; qualifying non-licensed applicants at GS-11 or GS-12 may receive a temporary graduate psychologist appointment under licensed supervision for up to two years while obtaining licensure.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• U.S. citizenship, except where VA policy permits appointment of non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Meet the grade-level experience and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs): GS-11 requires no experience beyond the basic requirements; GS-12 requires at least one year of professional psychologist experience equivalent to GS-11 and the specified KSAs; GS-13 requires at least two years of professional psychologist experience, including one year equivalent to GS-12, and the specified KSAs.
• GS-12 KSAs include applying a range of psychological treatments or assessment methods to varied patient populations; designing and implementing treatment strategies; incorporating new clinical procedures; and, as applicable, conducting research activities or performing basic scholarship and research tasks within an established team.
• GS-13 KSAs include applying professional psychological treatments across the full range of patient populations; providing professional advice and consultation in psychology and behavioral health; and knowledge of clinical research literature.
• Meet pre-employment conditions, including background/security investigation, required onboarding and identification documentation, pre-employment physical evaluation, and drug testing if selected for a testing-designated position.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program and maintain required board certification if applicable.
• Complete all application requirements specified in the announcement.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period.
• Meet the position’s physical demands and be able to work effectively in stressful situations, shift priorities based on patient needs, and recognize home safety risks.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with geriatric populations.
• Experience with home-based care.

Responsibilities

• Provide mental health prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, management, and professional consultation to HBPC patients.
• Conduct psychological assessments and provide individual, family, couple’s, group, and educational therapies, as well as adjunctive interventions for medical disorders.
• Screen, assess, diagnose, and treat depressive and anxiety-related disorders, other Axis I conditions, subclinical dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, and excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs.
• Provide psychological prevention services to patients at significant risk for psychological problems.
• Collaborate as appropriate with geriatrics and extended-care programs.
• Participate in peer review and assess the quality of professional psychology services.
• Identify patient problems requiring consultation with multidisciplinary medical-center staff and make appropriate referrals, including to specialty programs and community resources.
• Document patient visits, measure intervention outcomes, and meet productivity standards.
• Refer patients to clinical investigators or participate in research studies as appropriate, and integrate approved research methods and evidence-based approaches into clinical practice.
• Provide or refer patients, families, and significant others for counseling on health maintenance and disease prevention; promote patient independence and optimal health through psychosocial education and community referrals.
• Participate in staff and section meetings, attend relevant training, review professional literature, and meet continuing-education requirements to maintain competence and licensure.
• Complete home visits to Veterans within a 60-mile radius of the assigned campus as required by the interdisciplinary treatment team.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), with a potential award of up to $200,000 for an approved eligibility period of one to five years, subject to program requirements and review.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid Federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment in connection with birth, adoption, or foster-care placement.
• Potential childcare subsidy after 60 days for eligible full-time employees with total family income below $144,000; subsidy may cover up to 25% of eligible costs, subject to a monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting, and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

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