Staff Psychologist - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program

Staff Psychologist - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Fort Smith, Arkansas

Salary Range: $121840 - $158393 Per Year

Job Summary: 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.

Major Duties:

• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional To provide specialty mental health treatment to Veterans enrolled for care for the Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks and its Community Based Outpatient Clinics. Services include providing a full range of biopsychosocial evaluations, basic mental health symptom screening, evidence-based individual and group psychotherapy, and treatment planning. Duties include but not limited to: - Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and the diagnoses of mental disorders, particularly in complex or unusually difficult cases. - Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others. - Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy. - Fully participates as a Mental Health Service BHIP team member, assuming a collaborative role with Veterans and other team members in developing and implementing recovery-oriented treatment plans and functioning on the team as a consultant, mentor, leader, or other roles as appropriate to promote the team mission. - Provides consultation to professional staff within the Mental Health Service and the larger medical center, as well as to community providers when appropriate, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients. - Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of Clinical Reminders. - Functions independently as a member of the VHSO's Mental Health Service staff, with full clinical privileges. The incumbent assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation. - Assists the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS), Mental Health Service and Lead Psychologist with the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers. - Adheres to operational policies and procedures for Mental Health Service and the VA Medical Center. - Assists the ACOS of Mental Health Service and Lead Psychologist with ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of mental health programs. - Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs within the Medical Center and at other VA Medical Centers to effectively coordinate services. - Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of Clinical Reminders in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) for all patients. - Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic, procedure, and Service Connection/Special Authority codes). - Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Lead Psychologist, the ACOS, Mental Health Service, the VHSO Chief of Staff, and the Medical Center Director. - Attends regular Mental Health Service and BHIP staff meetings, and complies with peer review procedures. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Subject to change based on needs of the facility. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): not authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Jennifer.Isbell-Gross@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: 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. Child Care Subsidy: 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. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: ad hoc available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 01603F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): not authorized

Qualifications: Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Education: 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 & 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. 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; 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 & 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 & 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. Licensure. Hold a full, current, & unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current & the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education. Grandfathering Provision. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance, Level) (a) Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations. 2. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health. 3. Knowledge of clinical research literature. Preferred Experience: Experience with Evidence Based Psychotherapy (EBP) such as CBT-D, ACT, IPT, CBT-I, CBT-CT, and DPT. Providing behavioral health services to adult populations. Providing behavioral health services through telehealth modalities. Working as a member of a collaborative multidisciplinary care team. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations. IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 05/01/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12943023. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-01