Internship Remote Traumatic Brain Injury Research Jobs

Summary
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
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Duties
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Staff psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive rehabilitation oriented interventions for the treatment of medical disorders and disabilities. The modalities include but are not limited to individual, group, and family psychotherapies and other interventions such as biofeedback, hypnosis, and environmental interventions.
The incumbent will assess and provide education and treatment for relationship strain, dysfunction, and adjustment to injury among active-duty service members, veterans, their partners, caregivers, and families within the Polytrauma System of Care, including inpatient (Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center/Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center [PRC/CRC/SSP/ECP]), residential (Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program [PTRP] and Intensive Evaluation and Treatment Program [IETP]), and outpatient (Polytrauma Network Site [PNS] and Headache Center of Excellence [HCOE]) settings. Most patients have acquired brain injuries (ABI, such as traumatic brain injury or stroke) and other medical or psychological comorbidities. The incumbent must be knowledgeable about these conditions and will also assist partners, caregivers, and families in adjusting to changes resulting from concussion history, cancer, PTSD, and other associated conditions.
Duties may include but are not limited to:
GS-11:

• Conduct supervised diagnostic interviews and structured family/caregiver assessments in rehabilitation settings that include, diagnostic formulation and case conceptualization under psychologist supervision.
• Provide evidence-based and evidence-informed therapy, psychoeducation, and skills training for individuals, couples, families, caregivers, and service members or veterans in rehabilitation settings.
• Participate in family and team meetings to support treatment planning, coordination of care, and problem-solving around family adjustment and adaptation issues in rehabilitation settings.
• Assist with training and education activities, including facilitating groups, supporting seminars/case conferences, and helping orient staff or trainees.
• Support research, program evaluation, and clinic operations in family care services by collecting data, preparing summaries, assisting with literature reviews, and helping with routine administrative tasks.

GS-12

• Conduct diagnostic interviews and structured family/caregiver assessments for family functioning and adjustment to injury, with consultation for complex cases.
• Lead evidence-based and evidence-informed therapy, skills training, and psychoeducation groups for couples, families, caregivers, and service members/veterans.
• Facilitate family meetings, contribute to psychological formulations, and implement agreed-upon treatment interventions in rehabilitation settings.
• Work with teams to assess, plan, and coordinate care for family/caregiver issues, escalating high-risk or system-level concerns when needed.
• Provide supervised clinical supervision/training, support research and program evaluation in family care services, and contribute to committees, clinic operations, and outreach.

GS-13

• Provide diagnostic interviews, family/caregiver assessments, and treatment for family functioning and adjustment to injury.
• Develop, lead, and deliver a full range of therapy, skills training, and psychoeducation for individuals, couples, families, caregivers, and service members/veterans.
• Lead, coordinate, and facilitate family meetings and interdisciplinary family care planning.
• Provide consultation and education to staff and community providers on ABI, relationship, family, and caregiver issues.
• Supervise trainees, support training programs, and lead and implement research in family care services, program evaluation, and committee/leadership activities.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 11134-F, 11135-F, 11136-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact V21CCOEEDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• You 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.
• 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. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
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.
• Education
  
  • (1) 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
  • (2) 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
  • (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship:
  
  • (a) 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
  • (b) 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
  • (c) 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
  • (d) 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.)
• 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
  
  • (1) 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 GS12 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.

Grade Determinations:
Staff Psychologist, GS-11 Grade Requirements:
(a) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.
Staff Psychologist GS-12 Grade Requirements:
(a) Experience. 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.
(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 a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
2. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.
3. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.
4. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).
5. 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.
(c) Assignment. Staff psychologists at this level diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may conduct research. They may be assigned to any program area
Staff Psychologist GS-13 Grade Requirements:
(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 pati