The Primary Care/Mental Health Integration Psychologist {PC/MHI) is located within the Center for Health and Wellness (CHW) at the East Orange New Jersey Campus. The CHW provides "Whole Health" primary Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) and mental health care, as well as complementary and integrative health care services. The incumbent's key role is providing PCMHI services to the Veterans on the two PACT teams. Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.) 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. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] 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. Licensure. 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. Loss of Credential. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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. 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)Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Demonstrated KSAs. 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. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13, which is the actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy. ["Clinical Duties\n- Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and using the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care. Provides direct patient contact including assessment and treatment planning, individual psychotherapy/assessment sessions, family/caregiver stress therapy sessions.\n- Provides individual psychotherapy to veterans with a range of mental health problems, but especially for those who are flagged (or screened positive) by primary care providers as having depression, PTSD, suicidal ideation, alcohol or substance abuse.\n- Provides mental health triage for patients referred by the primary care provider for urgent mental health concerns or who need support and/or risk assessment.\n- Provides short term and group psychotherapies to promote healthy adaptation to a range of chronic medical illnesses, and especially for those whose diabetes management places them at risk for secondary complications.\n- Provides accepted short term treatment modalities (i.e. cognitive behavioral therapy, supportive psychotherapy, motivational interviewing) to veterans.\n- Provides same day access and warm handoffs to Veterans with positive depression, PTSD, Alcohol and Suicide Screens when needed; and participates/facilitates Whole Health groups within a multi-disciplinary team. Administrative Duties\n- Performs telephone triage for new consults to mental health.\n- Contributes to the gathering of assessment information and development of detailed treatment plans for veterans who are serviced by the Primary Care/Mental Health Integration Program.\n- Participates as a member of medical center hospital committees as directed.\n- Serves as an advisor, consultant and/or resource person to the staff within the medical center.\n- Maintains appropriate records and follow-up data on patients who are their responsibility.\n- Serves as a member of the planning group for evaluating the effectiveness of the PC/MH integration program and modifying it to better serve the needs of the patient.\n- Participates in the Center for Health and Wellness weekly team meetings, monthly facility PCHMI team meetings, and Whole Health research and Process Improvement projects in the Whole Health Flagship.\n- Complies with all regulations of the Veterans Health Administration and ensures that Clinical documentation complies with VANJ policies and current standards of practice for psychologists. Crisis Intervention\nThe Psychologist is experienced in assessing whether a client is in danger of harm to self or others and will utilize the emergency services available at VA NJ Healthcare System when appropriate. The incumbent's key role is providing PCMHI services to the Veterans on the two PACT teams. This includes mental health assessments, cognitive screens, suicide assessment and safety planning, triaging Veterans with positive depression, PTSD, and other screens, providing short-term therapy, and facilitating groups that promote mental and physical health and well-being. The incumbent serves as the CHW PCMHI content area expert with proficiency in evidence-based interventions for comorbid medical and mental health conditions. In addition to clinical care, the CHW psychologist serves as the program evaluation expert and helps to design and support process improvement projects. Responsibilities include the identification of priorities for improvement in PACT and creating opportunities to develop and spread best practices. The CHW Psychologist will contribute to systems-improvement projects in PACT by participation in various PACT and Whole Health steering committees. The incumbent will join a vibrant, multidisciplinary team that partners with Veterans on their Whole Health journey. The incumbent will work closely with the Whole Health Psychologist and other part-time CHW PCMHI providers Additional duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm; may be required to work other than normal duty hours to include evening or weekend hours.\nTelework: Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 26225F\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]