CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST I STIPEND

Position/Program Information

Department of Mental Health

EXAM NUMBER: b8695J

We welcome applications from everyone.

FILING START DATE: 04/15/26 at 9 AM

We will keep accepting applications until the position is filled. The application window may close unexpectedly once we have enough qualified candidates.

As the nation’s largest public mental health department, Los Angeles Department of Mental Health ensures access to care and treatment for our most vulnerable residents in a region with more than 10 million people.

Make an impact by helping diverse and underserved populations in a variety of settings throughout LA County. We offer phenomenal medical and life insurance, fantastic retirement benefits, along with many additional incentives, including license preparation! Help us build a better future!

Are you ready for a fulfilling career path with diverse clinical and administrative roles, a flexible work schedule and possible telework options?

Definition:

Under close supervision, serves as a staff psychologist by applying psychological principles in the following major areas: assessment, treatment, research, training, and clinical consultation.

Classification standards:

Positions allocable to this class typically report to a higher-level clinical supervisor, and provide the full-range of professional psychological services relating to the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and co-occurring disorders. Incumbents are responsible for selecting, administering, and interpreting various types of psychological testing instruments, and for providing individual, group and family therapy. The Clinical Psychologist I is distinguished from the Clinical Psychologist II in that the latter performs at the full professional level and may provide technical direction and guidance to the Clinical Psychologist I.

Essential Job Functions

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Selects, administers and interprets a wide variety of psychological testing instruments for the diagnosis and evaluation of clients with psychiatric and co-occurring disorders.
• Generates reports of diagnostic and psychological findings and/or treatment recommendations.
• Performs direct service activities including diagnostic evaluation, structured clinical interviewing, and individual, group, and family therapy.
• Uses a variety of treatment modalities such as psychotherapy, behavior modification, and various evidence-based or promising practices such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.
• Intervenes with clients to enhance their ability to fully participate in treatment, including defining treatment goals and designing intervention strategies that support recovery and resiliency.
• Evaluates client response to treatment, modifies treatment strategies and includes the client as part of the decision-making process.
• Obtains and studies medical, psychological, social and family histories, by interviewing individuals, couples, or families and reviewing relevant records.
• As a member of multidisciplinary treatment team, plans treatment programs and disposition of cases, including identifying treatment outcomes.
• Participates in professional staff conferences concerning psychological assessment methods, techniques and results.
• Provides testimony before courts of law on results of psychological evaluations.
• Assists in carrying out psychological research studies and multidisciplinary projects.

Requirements

Requirements to Qualify:
A Doctorate from an accredited college or university in psychology, educational psychology, education with the field of specialization in counseling psychology, or in a subject area deemed equivalent by the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Psychology.*
-AND-

Must be an approved LAC DMH Stipend awardee.**

* To receive credit for your education, include a legible copy of your official diploma or official transcript from an accredited institution within 7 calendar days of filing your application. The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English. Applicants with degrees from foreign universities may need to provide an evaluation of U.S. equivalency and official translation of the degree to English. For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf and

https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/205105_PPG_123_ACE_Resource_Guide.pdf .

** Applicants must appear on the current DMH Stipend Roster to qualify.

Special Requirement Information:

Withhold Information: Applicants who expect to receive their Doctorate degree within six (6) months of filing an application may compete in the examination, and if successful, will be withheld from certification for employment until original documentation of successful completion of the required education is received. Applicants must attach proof (original or photocopy of an original) of their college transcripts or degree indicating the field of study from an accredited college or university, or a letter with the Registrar's signature on school letterhead with school seal indicating a planned graduation date within 6 months to their application at the time of filing or within seven (7) calendar days of filing.

LICENSE:

A waiver issued by the California Department of Mental Health in accordance with Welfare & Institutions Code Section 5751.1-2. Waivers for newly-trained psychologists shall not exceed five years from the commencement of employment in California, or as currently defined by the State Welfare & Institutions Code. Waivers for out-of-state psychologists shall not exceed one year from date of employment in California, or as currently defined in the State Welfare & Institutions Code.****

***As a condition of employment, a candidate will be required to complete the Mental Health Professional Licensing Waiver Request at the time of appointment. The Department of Mental Health will submit the completed Waiver Request to the California Department of Mental Health. Applications will be rejected if waivers exceed 5 years from the commencement of employment in California or are within 12 months of expiration from the commencement of employment in California and for out-of-state psychologists, waivers that exceed one year from date of employment in California.

Physical Class II - Light: This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10 pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION INFORMATION: This is a noncompetitive examination. This examination is intended to merely qualify applicants. Applicants will be placed on an eligible register without indication of relative standing in the examination.

All notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application. It is important to provide a valid email address. Please add acestrada@dmh.lacounty.gov and info@governmentjobs.com to the list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

Special Information:

Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, holidays or weekends.

Past and present metal health clients and family members are encouraged to apply.

Vacancy Information: The resulting eligible register will be used to fill vacancies throughout the Department of Mental Health as they occur.

Eligibility Information:

Applications will be processed on an "as-received" basis and those receiving a passing score will be promulgated to the eligible register accordingly.

The names of applicants receiving will be added to the eligible register for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of promulgation.

Applicants will be placed on an eligible register without indication of relative standing in the examination. The appointing power may appoint any one of the names on the appropriate list/register, except a person without Veterans credit may not be appointed if there are three or more names on the list/register of persons entitled to Veteran's credit.

Application and filing information:

We only accept applications filed online. Applications submitted by U.S. mail, fax, or in person are not accepted. Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" green button at the top right of this posting. This website can also be used to get application status updates.

Please fill out the application completely. Provide relevant job experience including employer's name and address, job title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, and description of work performed.

We may verify information included in the application at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. Falsification of information could result in refusal of application or rescission of appointment. Copying verbiage from the Requirements or class specification as your work experience will not be sufficient to demonstrate meeting the requirements. Doing so may result in an incomplete application and may lead to disqualification.

We will send notifications to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. If you choose to unsubscribe or opt out from receiving our emails, it is possible to view notices by logging into governmentjobs.com and checking the profile inbox. It is every applicant's responsibility to take steps to view correspondence, and we will not consider claims of missing notices to be a valid reason for re-scheduling an exam part. Register the below domains as approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk mail.

New email addresses need to be verified. This only needs to be done once per email address and can be done at any time by logging in to governmentjobs.com and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of the online application and to prevent incorrectly entered email addresses.

Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number, so include yours when applying.

For those who do not have access to a computer or the internet, we provide access to complete an application at public libraries throughout the county.

All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member's or friend's login information may erase a candidate's original application record.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI):

The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. We are committed to promoting Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

Department Contact Name: Antonio Estrada

Department Contact Phone: (213) 972-7034

Department Contact Email: exams@dmh.lacounty.gov

California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922

Teletype Phone: (800) 899-4099

For detailed information, please click here

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• Los Angeles County

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