Training and education in clinical psychology in the context of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is revamping the access, quality, and financing of the health and mental health systems. However, its impact on training and education in clinical psychology is unclear. This article aims to identify specific components of the ACA, in particular the Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants, that are expected to affect training and education in the field. The article further connects the ACA with four paradigm shifts in clinical psychology that have broad implications for training and education—evidence‐based practices, research methodology, interprofessionalism, and the quality indicator movement. The overarching goal of this article is to begin timely discussions on the future directions of the field under the current healthcare reform.

Evidence-based psychological treatments for mental disorders: Modifiable barriers to access and possible solutions

“…Also, there is a great need to rapidly mount a workforce who are skilled in the delivery of EBPTs (Goldman, 2001; Thomas, et al, 2009). In fact, funds are available to support such initiatives (Chor, Olin, & Hoagwood, 2014). …”

An Evidence Roadmap for Implementation of Integrated Behavioral Health under the Affordable Care Act

“…5306 MBHETG of the ACA) are expected to influence the future training of behavioral health providers. Consequently, the ACA supports “programs designed to increase the number of professionals and paraprofessionals (to) service high priority populations ….and plan to service medically underserved in health professional shortage areas or in medically underserviced areas.” [71] . Recommendations for workforce development include incentive programs that recruit providers to underserved settings, like the National Health Services Corps, which could support integrated training clinical training programs [72] .…”

“…They proposed several areas for improvements; some of the key elements include competency based training using evidence-based practice guidelines along with values, knowledge and skills for new models of care—including population management and interdisciplinary approaches. Essentially, educators are proposing a paradigm shift from a narrow focus on individual mental health to four pillars of IBHC practice: 1) evidence-based practices of integrated care, 2) research methods, 3) interprofessionalism and 4) quality indicators and outcomes [71] . Training in integrated care requires a broad range of services at a faster pace, of shorter duration, and with frequent team-based communication [70] .…”

Educating the psychology workforce in the age of the Affordable Care Act: A graduate course modeled after the priorities of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

“…For example, PSYCinfo and Google Scholar searches reveal only two articles published in Health Psychology , the APA's flagship journal in clinical health psychology, that have mentioned the ACA (Hanoch & Finkelstein, 2013; Rothman, Klein, & Cameron, 2013) and none that have mentioned PCORI or its implications for training programs. Several recent articles (Arsenault et al, 2013; Chor, Olin, & Hoagwood, 2014; Hoerger, 2013; Puente, 2011; Rozensky, 2013, 2014a, 2014b) have made helpful comments on some of the broad implications of the ACA for health service psychology training programs, mainly focusing on abstract themes: increasing interprofessional education, boosting training in finance and health administration, expanding training from mental health to health more broadly, and improving cultural competence. However, existing recommendations focus mainly on applied clinical training, with less attention toward research training.…”