- Position Title
- Staff Psychologist
- Agency
- Veterans Health Administration
- Announcement Number
- OCA-CBST-12679073-25-DAY Opens in new window
- Open Period
- Thursday, February 6, 2025 to Tuesday, September 30, 2025
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1.
Do you claim Veterans’ Preference?
2.
Applicants are required to undergo and successfully pass a pre-employment drug screening test and must submit to random drug testing after employment. Will you comply with this requirement?
3.
In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Are you proficient in basic written and spoken English?
4.
Please indicate the location(s) you are interested in working at. The list below is broken down regionally by VISN (Veterans Integrated Service Network). For details regarding the specific facilities within each VISN please click here.
If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience) or if the position requires a college education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application.
Preferences
1.
Select the location(s) you want to be considered for. You must choose at least one location.
2.
Which of the following items describes your current or recent (within the last five years) political appointee service?
If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
Your resume must be submitted in English and include the following information for each job listed:
- Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
- Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
- Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
- Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
- Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
By submitting your application, you are certifying, to the best of your knowledge and belief, all the information submitted by you with your application for employment is true, complete, and made in good faith, and that you have truthfully and accurately represented your work experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and education (degrees, accomplishments, etc.). The information you provide as part of your application may be investigated. You are also certifying, and acknowledging, that misrepresenting your experience or education, or providing false or fraudulent information in, or with your application, may affect your eligibility for appointment and/or continued employment. False or fraudulent statements may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001).
3.
I authorize my application information being shared with hiring managers for similar positions. I understand this option may not result in further consideration for additional positions nor will it impact my application for this announcement.
Assessment 1
We will evaluate your resume, supporting documents, and responses to this Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for this position. Your responses are subject to verification and must be supported by your resume and other application documents. You will not be contacted for missing information or documents. All information and documents are due at the time of application.
This section evaluates if you meet the basic requirements for the position of GS-0180 Psychologist.
Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s).
1.
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. Are you proficient in spoken and written English?
2.
Education: The VHA Psychologist must meet one of the following education requirements:
- 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,
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:
(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.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes your education that qualifies you for this Psychologist position. Your education must be documented in your transcripts provided.
- 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,
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:
(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.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes your education that qualifies you for this Psychologist position. Your education must be documented in your transcripts provided.
3.
Education Information: Provide the following information regarding the academic institution from which you received your education.
Name of Academic Institution
City and State
Month and Year conferred
Name of Academic Institution
City and State
Month and Year conferred
4.
Internship: In addition, the VHA Psychologist must also meet one of these criteria regarding their internship:
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes the type of internship that qualifies you for this Psychologist position. You must provide documentation that supports the type of 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.
- 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;
- 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;
- 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.)
- 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.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes the type of internship that qualifies you for this Psychologist position. You must provide documentation that supports the type of internship.
5.
Internship Information: Provide the following information regarding the internship you have completed.
Name of program
City and State
Month and Year conferred
Name of program
City and State
Month and Year conferred
6.
Licensure: Applicants 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 under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (c)(2)(B) 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.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes your current licensure status that qualifies you for this Psychologist position. Your license must be provided as a supporting document if you are licensed.
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 under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (c)(2)(B) 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.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes your current licensure status that qualifies you for this Psychologist position. Your license must be provided as a supporting document if you are licensed.
7.
Licensure Information: Provide the following information regarding your licensure.
Name on License
Issuing state or territory
Complete license number
Expiration date
If you are not currently licensed, simply note "Not Applicable".
Name on License
Issuing state or territory
Complete license number
Expiration date
If you are not currently licensed, simply note "Not Applicable".
For GS-11, applicants must meet the basic requirements.
8.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes your specialized experience that qualifies you for the GS-11 level.
For GS-12, applicants must have at least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
a. Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations,
b. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies,
c. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures,
d. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects staff psychologists with specified research job duties, and
e. 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.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
a. Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations,
b. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies,
c. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures,
d. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects staff psychologists with specified research job duties, and
e. 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.
9.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes your specialized experience that qualifies you for the GS-12 level.
For GS-13, applicants must have:
At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level AND
are licensed to practice psychology independently.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
a. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations,
b. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health, and
c. Knowledge of clinical research literature.
At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level AND
are licensed to practice psychology independently.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
a. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations,
b. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health, and
c. Knowledge of clinical research literature.
10.
Please select the appropriate answer below that best describes your specialized experience that qualifies you for the GS-13 level.