Developing Interdisciplinary Training Programs for the Underserved and the Graduate Psychology Educa

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Developing Interdisciplinary Training Programs
for the Underserved and the Graduate Psychology
Education (GPE) Initiative

• Jeff Baker, Ph.D.- University of Texas Medical
  Branch-
• School of Allied Health Sciences
• Alex Mabe, Ph.D.- Medical College of
  Georgia-VAMC of Augusta
• Paul Robbins, Ph.D.
• and Tom Power, Ph.D.-The Children's Hospital
  of Philadelphia
• Richard Weinberg, Ph.D.- Louis De L Parte Florida
  Mental Health Institute
  University of South Florida
• Nina Levitt, Ph.D. - Education Directorate,
  American Psychological
• Association

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Panel Discussion Objectives

• Provide examples of how involving psychology in
  interdisciplinary health care improves service
  delivery in general, particularly to underserved
  populations.
• Provide suggested principles that can be used to
  guide interdisciplinary training at the doctoral
  internship level.
• Provide examples of interdisciplinary training
  methods used at the doctoral internship level for
  serving the underserved.

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MCG-VAMC ConsortiumA Psychology Workforce
Development Project
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Interdisciplinary Health Care
Two or more disciplines working toward common
goals, joint efforts to identify and analyze
problems, and joint responsibility for actions
and interventions to accomplish these goals
(Counsell et al, 1999)
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The Biopsychosocial Model
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An Interdisciplinary Internship Training Model
Core Elements

• 1. An integrative assessment/treatment model of
  health problems.
• 2. Health care professionals skilled in the core
  competencies of their respective disciplines.
• 3. An available and interactive interdisciplinary
  staff.

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An Interdisciplinary Internship Training Model
Core Elements - continued

• 4. Joint ownership of patients.
• 5. Interaction skills that enable practitioners
  from different disciplines to function in
  complementary ways.

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1. An integrative assessment/treatment model of
health problems.

• Empirical Clinician training model.
• Emphasis on data integration.
• Holds to a biopsychosocial perspective.
• Emphasizes data pertaining to relevant research
  and cultural data.
• Biopsychosocial Templates for case presentations.
  

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2. Core competencies.

• Polishing the essential clinical skills of data
  collection, data integration, data presentation,
  consultation skills, and empirically supported
  treatment.
• Generalizing their knowledge and skills to
  include medical as well as the traditional mental
  health care settings.

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Generalization Opportunities

• VAMC Spinal Cord Unit.
• VAMC Chronic Pain Treatment Service.
• C/L Services.
• Ryan White Infectious Disease Clinic.
• Pediatric HIV/AIDS Clinic.
• The Family Solutions Program.
• C.A.R.E., Inc.
• The Healthy Grandparents Project of Augusta.
• The Sister to Sister project.
• The Augusta Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Center.
• Child and Adolescent Response and Evaluation
  project.

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A shift in Supervision

• A review of the contributions that could be made
  by other health care disciplines in the care of
  residents patients.
• A review of medications being prescribed for
  their patients and helping residents become
  familiar with the nature of medications being
  used with their patients- medication benefits and
  potential side effects.
• Identify reference materials (including web-based
  databases) in efforts to better understand
  medical issues pertaining to their patients.

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Required Work Sample

• A written work sample required twice during the
  year in which the residents must include an
  interdisciplinary assessment that involves a
  broad perspective of patient problems and the
  potential contributions of other health care
  professionals in the care of the patient.

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3. An available and interactive interdisciplinary
staff.

• Effective interdisciplinary training must place
  residents in teams of multiple disciplines
  committed to a collaborative style of
  communication and decision-making.

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4. Joint ownership of patients.

• Developed a sense of responsibility for the
  quality of the teams program of care for all
  patients without implying direct services were
  being provided to all patients by all discipline
  providers.
• Psychiatry and psychology trainees were paired up
  within teams.
• Weekly intake and treatment consultation meetings
  involving interdisciplinary participants were
  formed.
• Efforts were made to be financially efficient by
  limiting group discussion time and when possible
  scheduling services from the different
  disciplines on different days to avoid stacking
  charges.

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5. Interaction skills.

• Basic understanding of medical contexts.
• Facility in adapting to the practices and
  standards pertaining to physician and
  psychologist communications.
• Familiarity with other disciplines skills, their
  potential contributions in addressing patient
  health care needs, and a sense of how team
  members can complement one another.
• Adaptation of core clinical psychology skills to
  medical contexts.
• Knowledge and skills relevant to understanding
  team process and effective ways of facilitating
  collaborative team discussion and treatment
  planning.