Definition
Leads clinical teams or provides specialized expertise in areas such as clinical psychology, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, integrated behavioral health, or advanced therapeutic interventions in a state facility or intellectual disability program; manages the most clinically complex cases, develops advanced treatment plans, and ensures high quality of clinical interventions and practices; provides clinical supervision, consultation, and oversight to non-licensed professionals and less-experienced licensed clinicians; operates with substantial autonomy and minimal supervision; performs related work as required.
The work examples and competencies listed below are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to be the primary basis for position classification decisions.
Work Examples
Assists supervisor by performing such duties as instructing employees, answering questions, distributing and balancing the workload, and checking work; may make suggestions on selection, promotions, and reassignments.
Collaborates effectively with high-level professionals like physicians, psychiatrists, attorneys, and judges.
Coordinates and oversees clinical programs or special projects and initiatives within the institution, such as psychological testing, report writing, communications with third parties like the courts, evidence-based and best practice interventions and approaches, and quality assurance and improvement.
Carries out highly specialized caseload responsibilities such as providing accurate diagnosis, case conceptualization, comprehensive and targeted evaluations and reports, and/or evidence-based interventions for clinically complex and challenging presentations.
Leads facilitation of multi-disciplinary or inter-disciplinary treatment teams in state institutions.
Provides training and clinical supervision to non-licensed professionals and licensed clinicians; assists with professional licensure requirements.
Leads and facilitates behavioral health professional staff meetings.
Conducts or oversees institutional research or large data collection projects as the principal investigator.
Submits research and program proposals to professional management staff; designs, coordinates. and carries out selected psychological research projects to investigate habilitative treatment techniques.
- Prepares specialized and comprehensive reports and evaluations such as competence to stand trial, not guilty by reason of insanity, violence risk assessments, and complex diagnostic and disability-type evaluations.
Competencies Required
Knowledge:
- Law and Government – Laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- English Language – The structure and content of the English language, including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Administration and Management – Business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative – Administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Psychology – Human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Therapy and Counseling – Principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training – Principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Customer and Personal Service – Principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Sociology and Anthropology – Group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Public Safety and Security – Relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Abilities:
Written Expression – Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Written Comprehension - Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral Comprehension - Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression – Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning – Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning – Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions.
Category Flexibility – Generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Fluency of Ideas – Come up with several ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Flexibility of Closure – Identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Problem Sensitivity – Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Originality – Come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Skills:
Active Listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension – Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking – Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing – Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Negotiation – Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Active Learning – Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision Making – Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Service Orientation – Actively looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving – Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Social Perceptiveness – Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Monitoring – Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Coordination – Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Persuasion – Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:
Possession of a current Psychologist License from the Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals and post-licensure experience equal to three years of full-time work in professional behavioral health in an institutional or community mental health, intellectual disability, long-term care, or corrections program.
Possession of a current Psychologist License from the Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals and post-licensure experience equal to two years of full-time professional work in forensic psychology or neuropsychology.
Effective Date: 06/25 KC