Staff Psychologist Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI)

Veterans Health Administration • West Palm Beach, FL

8d • Onsite

About The Position

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. Program 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. West Palm Beach is looking for a Staff Psychologist who will work within Mental Health & Behavioral Science Service and duties include working with and clinically supporting the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and Outpatient Clinics. This psychologist works within the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Clinic as a Co-located Collaborative Care (CCC) behavioral health consultant in Primary Care.

Requirements

• 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.
• 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 ( https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents ).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• 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; OR, 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: The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, 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.
• 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 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); 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with PCPs and the interdisciplinary PACT to support high quality, effective, and coordinated service delivery at patient and programmatic levels.
• Maintain daily open access slots and encourages same-day warm handoffs within PACT.
• Complete most individual appointments (e.g. 75%) within 30 minutes.
• Use Measurement Based Care (MBC) in accordance with nationally recommended guidelines for PCMHI.
• Conduct initial functional assessments that are focused on the main reason(s) for referral and are less extensive than traditional mental health intake evaluations (e.g., 30 minutes vs. 60 or 90 minutes for traditional evaluation).
• Support Stepped-Care principles and assist with Collaborative Care Management to facilitate "on-time, on target" services to Veterans, matching the intensity of services with the level of clinical need.
• Refer Veterans with more severe or complex needs to the appropriate general or specialty mental health program.
• Provide time-limited, brief, evidence-based, individual or group interventions (e.g., approximately 1-6 sessions) for a broad range of behavioral health and health behavior concerns within the primary care setting.
• Utilize intermittent visits and flexible patient contact strategies to support brief but longitudinal PCMHI care as part of PACT.
• Ensure quality of care by successfully completing the national VA PCMHI Competency Training Program (or approved equivalent) and associated ongoing education modules.
• Write clear, concise notes that are optimized for collaboration within PACT based on the PCMHI CCC functional assessment and follow-up visit guidelines.
• Note document important elements for team collaboration (e.g., MBC, curbside consultation/team care discussion, liaison with specialty care providers) as appropriate.
• Notes are completed the same day or within documentation timeline required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate.
• Engage in PACT huddles and meetings to cultivate collaborative team functioning and serve as a subject matter expert for behavioral health considerations.
• Provide education to PACT on behavioral health and health behavior issues, as well as tips to promote effective patient communication, motivational enhancement, and behavior change.
• Integrate self into routine workflow of Primary Care and seeks opportunities to offer expertise or direct patient care services to support team-based care.
• Routinely provides feedback (verbal and/or written) to PCP and other PACT members same day as referral.
• Collaborate with other team members in PCMHI (e.g., PCMHI Health Technicians, Collaborative Care Managers, and Providers with Prescribing Privileges) ensuring high quality, effective, Veteran-centered services at patient and programmatic levels.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 .
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).

What This Job Offers

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