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Abstract

Over the past decade, a new paradigm in behavioral health care has emerged. It places emphasis on cost control, evidence-based practice, patient safety, access to care, treatment relevance for diverse populations, consumerism, and quality of care. Unfortunately, graduate education and training programs have had difficulty keeping pace with the dramatic changes in the field. As a consequence, there is concern that the graduates of many of these programs are not being adequately prepared to practice in current health care systems. This article reviews the nature of recent changes in behavioral health care, the current status of graduate education programs with respect to these changes, and offers 15 recommendations for increasing the relevance of graduate education to contemporary clinical practice.

Training in Mental Health Recovery and Social Justice in the Public Sector

“…Extending the understanding and boundaries of interdisciplinary and community collaboration allows for increased empowerment of individuals, enhanced social agency, and expansion of common goals to support people in their recovery (Davidson et al, 2009;Slade, 2009). In addition, behavioral health training that involves work in non-traditional service settings is thought to be desirable (Hoge, Jacobs, Belitsky, & Migdole, 2002), making such arrangements excellent opportunities for psychology trainees.…”

“…They work with individuals to decrease the effects of stigma in their lives and increase their social agency, community integration, and self-determination (Davidson et al, 2009). Fellows are afforded the opportunity to work collaboratively with community organizations such as homeless shelters, social clubs for individuals with SMI, supportive housing networks, court systems, state mental health facilities, substance use treatment programs, other mental health and medical systems, educational programs, vocational programs, and family service programs, which is thought to be important in training behavioral health professionals (Hoge et al, 2002). For example, conducting evaluations at the homelessness service provider agency allows fellows to expand the boundaries of traditional mental health practice based on creative engagement strategies in the community (Bond et al, 2001;Herman et al, 2007).…”