CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST I

Salary : $86,869.20 - $117,064.32 Annually
Location : Los Angeles County, CA
Job Type: Full time
Job Number: b8695H
Department: MENTAL HEALTH
Opening Date: 07/28/2023

Position/Program Information
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
EXAM NUMBER: b8695H
OPEN COMPETITIVE JOB OPPORTUNITY
FILING START DATE: 8/01/23 at 9 AM
This examination will remain open until the needs of the posting are met
REPOSTING INFORMATION:
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS A REPOSTING TO UPDATE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Candidates who are within six months of completion of doctorate graduation may compete in the examination process; however, candidates will be placed on a "withhold" on the eligible register until proof of graduation is submitted to the Department of Mental Health, Exams Unit.

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.
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health has the following options available for employment as a Clinical Psychologist I:

1. Outpatient Services- we operate clinics throughout the county where psychologists perform a wide array of mental health services, including assessments, treatment planning, group and individual therapy and psychological testing.

2. Juvenile Justice- DMH provides an array of mental health services to individuals in juvenile justice halls and camps across the County.

3. Justice-related court services- DMH provides an array of assessment and linkage services at courts throughout Los Angeles County, focused on diverting incarcerated adults away from the justice system and into an array of non-institutional mental health services.

4. Specialized Foster Care services- DMH operates specialized assessment and treatment services for children and families in foster care, including multidisciplinary treatment planning. These services are coordinated and delivered in community settings across the county and in coordination with the Department of Children and Family Services.

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

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.

Utilizes 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

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
A Doctorate from an accredited college or university in psychology, educational psychology, education with the field of specialization in counseling psychology, or in a discipline deemed equivalent by the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Psychology.

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.

PHYSICAL CLASS:
2 - Light: Light physical effort which may include occasional light lifting to a 10-pound limit, and some bending, stooping or squatting. Considerable walking may be involved.

Special Requirement Information:
A copy of your degree or official transcripts MUST be attached to the application at the time of filing.

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.
Additional Information

Examination Content:

EXAM CONTENT: The examination will consist of a Training & Experience Evaluation, weighted 100%, assessing your training and/or experience in the following areas:
• Providing clinical services to clients or patients
• Assessing for safety and utilizing crisis intervention techniques on clients or patients
• Administering psychological testing and rendering a diagnosis to clients or patients
Applicants must meet the Minimum Requirements and achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on the Training & Experience evaluation in order to be placed on the eligible register. All notifications including invitation letters will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application. It is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add jgoldman, info@governmentjobs.com, and do-not-reply@to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

Special Information:
Past and present mental health clients and family members are encouraged to apply.

Vacancy Information:
The resulting eligible register for this examination will be used to fill vacancies throughout the Department of Mental Health.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: Applications will be processed on an as-received basis. The names of candidates receiving a passing grade on the examination will be added to the eligible register and will appear in the order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of eligibility.

Application and Filing Information
All applicants are required to submit a Standard County of Los Angeles Employment Application online only. Resumes cannot be accepted in lieu of applications, although resumes may be uploaded as attachments to the applications. This examination will remain open until the need of the services are met, and is subject to closure without prior notice.

You MUST complete the filing process ONLINE (via electronic submission) ONLY.

Instructions for Filing: A standard County of Los Angeles Employment Application for this examination must be completed online and submitted electronically. Applications electronically received after 5:00 pm, PT on the last day of filing will not be accepted.
APPLICANTS MUST COMPLETE AND SUBMIT THEIR JOB APPLICATIONS AND UPLOAD REQUIRED OR ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS (e.g.,diploma/official transcripts, license) AS ATTACHMENT(S) AT THE TIME OF FILING.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Prime Variance Reports (PVRs), also known as Master Time Records, are not accepted, or required as part of the application process; this includes the selection interview and the background-check.
Additional documents may be sent by email to , please include exam number and exam title in the subject line.

The acceptance of your application will depend on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Minimum Requirements. Please be sure your application indicates complete information, including dates for education and jobs held which relate to this position. For each job held, give the name and addresses of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, description of work performed, total number of hours worked (full or part-time) and salary earned. Resumes showing training and experience may be attached to the Los Angeles County Application. All information and records are subject to verification.

Falsification of records can result in disqualification from the examination or termination of employment.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER LANGUAGE
All applicants must enter a valid social security number at the time of filing. Entering anything other than a valid social security number (i.e. 000-00-0000, 111-11-1111, etc.) will result in an automatic rejection of your application.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT LIBRARIES
For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

NO SHARING USER ID AND PASSWORD
All applicants must file their applications online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

Department Contact Name: Antonio Estrada
Department Contact Phone: (213) 972-7034
Department Contact Email:
California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922
Teletype Phone: (800) 899-4099
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

Employment Information

Any language contained in the job posting supersedes any language contained below.

This document is intended to provide general information about the recruitment process of the County of Los Angeles. Applicants with questions about a specific job posting should contact the exam analyst listed on the posting.

Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Statement:
The County of Los Angeles is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is committed to non-discrimination in the County workforce, regardless of age (40 and over); ancestry; color; ethnicity; religious creed; protected family or medical leave status; disability; marital status; medical condition; genetic information; military and veteran status; national origin; race ; sex; gender; sexual orientation; or any other characteristic protected by State or federal law. For more information, please visit:
Testing Accommodations for Applicants:
The County of Los Angeles complies with all federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, please contact the testing accommodation coordinator listed on the job posting. Hearing impaired applicants with telephone teletype equipment may leave messages by calling the teletype phone number on the job posting. For more information on accommodations, please visit:
Fair Chance:
The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except as otherwise permissible under applicable laws, you will not be asked to provide information about conviction history unless you receive a conditional offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and will also consider potential mitigating factors, which may include, but is not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with County Fair Chance Policies and the Fair Chance Act (Gov. Code Section 12952).
Employment Eligibility:
Final appointment is contingent upon verification of U.S. citizenship or the right to work in the United States.
Career PathFinder:
Resources to help current and prospective employees plan a career with Los Angeles County are available. To explore career paths to and from nearly all job titles, please visit our interactive Career PathFinder application at
Veteran's Credit:
Pursuant to the County Charter and County policy, in all open competitive examinations (i.e., examinations open to everyone), the County of Los Angeles will add a credit of 10 percent of the total credits specified for such examination to the final passing score of an honorably discharged veteran, as well as the spouse of a deceased or disabled veteran, who served in the Armed Forces of the United States under specific conditions.
For more information on veteran's credit, please visit:
Revised September 2025
For detailed information, please click
01

Do you possess a Doctorate degree from an accredited college or university in psychology, educational psychology, education with the field of specialization in counseling psychology, or in a discipline deemed equivalent by the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Psychology?

• Yes
• No, but my doctoral degree will be conferred within the next six (6) months
• No

02

Have you completed the Mental Health Professional Licensing Waiver Request with the California Department of Mental Health? If yes, please submit a copy of the Licensing Waiver Request at the time of filing.

• Yes
• No

03

What is your post doctoral degree experience in performing psychiatric diagnostic evaluations and individual, group and family therapy? Be sure to include employer, month/year started and ended, hours per week, and relevant duties.
04

Are you interested in working in Outpatient Services?

• Yes
• No

05

Are you interested in working in Juvenile Justice?

• Yes
• No

06

Are you interested in working in Justice-Related court services?

• Yes
• No

07

Are you interested in working in Specialized Foster Care services?

• Yes
• No

08

Are you willing to work in the North County i.e. Sylmar/Santa Clarita area?

• Yes
• No

09

Are you willing to work in the Palmdale/Lancaster area of the County?

• Yes
• No

10

Are you proficient in American Sign Language (ASL)?

• Yes
• No

11

Do you have a County American Sign Language (ASL) certification?Note: Please attach a legible copy of your certificate to your application at the time of filing. If you are unable to attach your certificate, please email your certificate to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov within seven (7) calendar days from application submission.

• Yes, I have attached a County American Sign Language certification to my online application.
• Yes, I will email County American Sign Language certification to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov within (7) calendar days from application submission.
• No, I do not have a County American Sign Language certification.

12

Do you have American Sign Language (ASL) certification?Note: Please attach a legible copy of your certificate to your application at the time of filing. If you are unable to attach your certificate, please email your certificate to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov within seven (7) calendar days from application submission.

• Yes, I have attached ASL certification to my online application.
• Yes, I will email ASL certification to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov within (7) calendar days from application submission.
• No, I do not have ASL certification.

Required Question