Supporting students in health service psychology training: A theory-driven approach to meeting the diverse needs of trainees.

Abstract

HSP) trainees have shifted considerably in recent decades. In what was previously a field comprised predominantly of White men, HSP trainees today represent a much broader range of backgrounds. Nonetheless, the leadership within HSP training (e.g., faculty) remains relatively homogenous, and the training approaches (e.g., mentorship styles, expectations for students) may have failed to evolve to meet the needs of this more diverse pool of trainees. Therefore, there is reason to believe that the training needs of students who represent an array of diverse backgrounds, identities, and life experiences may not be met by existing conceptualizations of and approaches to training. In this article, we discuss several training issues that are specific to a range of trainees, including women, trainees who are parents, sexual/gender minoritized trainees, trainees with disabilities, and trainees from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. We draw from social-ecological and feminist mentoring theories, as well as the American Psychological Association's (APA, 2018) Standards of Accreditation (SoA) for HSP Doctoral Programs, to offer recommendations for optimizing the training experiences of HSP trainees across multiple levels of analysis. Public Significance StatementThis article discusses issues that are relevant to Health Service Psychology (HSP) trainees with diverse identities. Theory-derived recommendations for supporting trainees with diverse identities are guided by the American Psychological Association's (APA) Standards on Accreditation for HSP Doctoral Training Programs. The authors argue that changes in mentoring practices and training program policy may ultimately help to improve representation of diverse individuals in psychology leadership and in academic settings.

Attitudes about parenting and family planning among psychology trainees and mentors.

“…Consistent with recommendations from Brown et al (2021) using social ecology and feminist mentoring theories, program-level policies must be enacted at each training institution to, “(a) ensure mentor relationships are established, (b) promote inclusive mentorship that upholds the needs of diverse trainees, and (c) encourage ongoing evaluations of such programs” (p. 6). Acceptance to a training program should guarantee the availability of supportive mentorship, initiated by the institution and re-evaluated (at minimum) at each training milestone for its perceived effectiveness and potential needs.…”

Making the leap to socially responsive research training in health service psychology.

“…We do note that attempts to integrate multicultural perspectives into HSP training have historically been more central in counseling programs than in clinical or school psychology programs (Bernal & Castro, 1994; Quintana & Bernal, 1995; Smith et al, 2016). Nevertheless, faculty who teach research methods courses in many HSP programs remain relatively homogenous (Hartmann et al, 2013; Medin, 2017), limiting the extent to which approaches and expectations for student learning in research methods has kept pace with the needs of the current diverse pool of trainees and the increasingly diverse population of our communities (Brown et al, 2022).…”

Shifting the discourse on disability: Moving to an inclusive, intersectional focus.

“…As described by Brown et al (2022), despite the significant number of students with disabilities in clinical psychology (9%–14% of recent internship applicants identified as having a disability; Lund, 2021) there is a lack of focus on disability-related issues in clinical psychology training. This becomes especially problematic when one considers that trainees with disabilities report high rates of disability-related barriers (e.g., inaccessible training environments; see Lund, Andrews, et al, 2014), experiences with disability bias in their clinical work (e.g., pressure to disclose disability to clients; Taube & Olkin, 2011), and lack of supervisor competence in working with trainees with disability (e.g., biased remarks and assumptions from supervisors; Andrews et al, 2013; Lund, Andrews, et al, 2014, 2016, 2021; Wilbur et al, 2019).…”

“…This may include discussion of interconnected systems of oppression and social determinants of health as well as understanding how stereotypes of marginalized communities negatively impact their resource access, health, and well-being (Clare, 2019; Daniel et al, 2018). In addition, improving training and resource access for providers increases the presence and support of health care providers (see training section; Brown et al, 2022; Gueta, 2020; Lund et al, 2021). These improvements may consist of informal mentoring, increasing graduate stipends to a livable wage, and clear policies for reporting discrimination and harassment (Jones et al, 2018; Rogers et al, 2013)…”