Staff Psychologist – Mental Health
Department of Veterans Affairs
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.
Duties
- Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties of this position are, but not limited to: Conducts comprehensive psychological assessments and formulates diagnostic impressions using standardized and clinically appropriate methods.
- Delivers evidence-based and evidence-informed psychotherapy for mental health, substance use, behavioral, and psychosocial concerns within granted clinical privileges.
- Completes all required clinical documentation and charting in accordance with healthcare system timelines, quality standards, and accreditation requirements.
- Provides clinical supervision, guidance and education to assigned staff and trainees involved in psychological service delivery.
- Serves as a resource to other professional personnel by offering consultation regarding psychological services and treatment planning.
- Offers education to patients, patients' family members, professional staff, and trainees on mental health conditions and treatment approaches.
- Performs risk assessments for self-harm or harm to others and implements suicide prevention and crisis management procedures.
- Functions as a contributing member of multidisciplinary medical and mental health teams in inpatient, outpatient, or specialty care settings.
- Participates in performance improvement and quality assurance activities relevant to psychological services and assigned clinical programs.
- Abides by the ethical principles addressed by psychology licensing boards.
- Supports and/or participates in scientific activity.
- May serve on internal and external committees.
- Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00am
- 4:30pm EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.
- Contact VHAVISN23EDRP@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.
- 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)
- Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
- Functional Statement #: 000000
Requirements
- 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 identification 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
- 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.
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/.
Required Documents
- To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
- Resume Transcript Special Note for
- Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume
- This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.
- Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.
- The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position.
- Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former
- Federal employees), etc. Cover Letter
- DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License **Highly
- Recommend** Write to the
- Knowledge, Skills, and
- Abilities (KSAs) on a separate document
- KSAs are found under qualification/grade requirements in the announcement. Resume/CV exceeding two-pages Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript
About this role
The Staff Psychologist – Mental Health position and is based in Davenport, Iowa. This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.
Day to day, the role delivers evidence-based and evidence-informed psychotherapy for mental health, substance use, behavioral, and psychosocial concerns within granted clinical privileges. The full list of duties, conditions, and required documents appears in the official announcement linked on this page.
Who should apply
This role calls for United States citizenship, the relevant certifications named in the posting, and a valid driver's license. Be prepared for a pre-employment drug screening as part of the hiring process. Match your federal resume directly to the announcement's wording so a reviewer can confirm each requirement in writing. For this Staff Psychologist – Mental Health position in Davenport, Iowa, confirm you meet each requirement before applying.
How competitive it is
Competitiveness for this Staff Psychologist – Mental Health role depends mainly on how closely applicants match the stated qualifications. Based in Davenport, Iowa, it competes within that local market, which can mean lighter competition than major metropolitan postings.
This overview is general guidance from Job Army to help you understand the role. Always read the official announcement for exact duties, qualifications, and requirements before applying.
