Veterans Health Administration Logo
Position Title
Staff Psychologist - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program
Agency
Veterans Health Administration
Announcement Number
CBSU-12680805-25-SG Opens in new window
Open Period
Monday, February 10, 2025 to Monday, August 18, 2025
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1. Are you currently employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.

To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50).  Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted).  Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
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2. Are you an employee of the facility indicated for this position?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.

To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50).  Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted).  Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
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3. Are you a current/past/upcoming VHA Health Professions Trainee (HPT) Graduate?

An HPT may be VA-paid, Without Compensation (WOC), or a participant of the VA Health Professional Scholarship Program that has been appointed to a temporary position in one or more VHA medical facilities performing clinical or research training experience to satisfy program or degree requirements.

To verify your standing as a current/past/upcoming HPT graduate, you must submit a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50), the FL-294 (or a WOC appointment letter).
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4. Are you a Veterans Health Administration employee?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
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Preferences
1. Select the location(s) you want to be considered for. You must choose at least one location. (limit characters)
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.
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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.
Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications. Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, protected health information, religious affiliation, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter. We will not access web pages or encrypted, and digitally signed documents linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualifications.
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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). (limit characters)
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. (limit characters)
Assessment 1
Thank you for your interest in the Staff Psychologist - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program, GS-180, position with the Veterans Health Administration. To qualify for this position, you must meet the Basic Requirements as well as any additional grade-level qualification requirements. Grandfathering Provision: A Psychologist employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (2/7/2018) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-0180-13) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting the full qualification requirements. (limit characters)
Basic Requirements (limit characters)
Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s). (limit characters)
1. English Language Proficiency. Are you proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)? (limit characters)
2. Education. Do you possess the basic education requirement as described below?
  • 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 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.

AND
Internships
  • 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 (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.

- OR -
  • Grandfathering Provision. I meet the grandfathering provision as I am employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date February 7, 2018 of this qualification standard and therefore am considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

- OR -
  • I am a current or former OAA intern/resident/fellow at a VA program.
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3. Licensure. Do you possess 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.

-OR-

Do you meet the Grandfathering Provision? All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard (2/7/2018) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

- OR - 

Are you a current or former OAA intern/resident/fellow at a VA program?
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Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s). (limit characters)
4. Driver's License Requirement: A current, Valid State issued Driver's License is required for this position. Note: We cannot accept photographs therefore please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state-issued Driver's License.

Do you possess a current and valid state issued Driver's License?
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4a. Driver's License- Please provide your driver's license number, issuing state and expiration date. Reminder - Do not include a copy of your license, if referred for interview it may be required at that time.
Driver's License Number:
Issuing State:
Expiration date:
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RESUME REMINDER - Your resume must 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

 TRANSCRIPTS AND LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION - Please provide a copy of your transcripts and licensure/certification to demonstrate you meet the requirements of the position posted.

SF-50 REMINDER- If you are a current federal employee, a former employee with reinstatement rights, or OAA eligible, you MUST submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 or your separation/ resignation SF-50. This SF-50 needs to show your current or last grade, step, wage, and title. Please do not submit a bonus or award SF-50. A promotion, General wage adjudication, Step- progression or a separation SF-50 are the preferred SF-50's. Your federal employment status cannot be verified without this document and you will be disqualified for not meeting the area of consideration if you do not provide the documentation.

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.

Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.
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