Graduate Psychology Education Programs - The purpose of this project, Doctoral Internship Training in Pediatric Integrated Primary Care: Improving Access to Quality Behavioral Health Care in High Need, High Demand Areas in Nebraska is to increase the number of well-trained, culturally competent health service psychology interns who are both prepared to address the needs of the communities they serve and committed to working in high need, high demand areas including rural, Native communities, and mental health professional shortage areas (MHPSAs) in NE. The target population for this project includes training doctoral psychology interns. We are requesting a funding priority based on our positive history of training psychologists in integrated primary care practices in NE. We are also requesting a funding preference based on our proportion of graduates employed in MUCs. Improving access to quality behavioral health services is crucial in high need, high demand areas and integrated primary care with interdisciplinary teams can increase access. To increase supply of well-trained, culturally competent health service psychologists we will: (a) expand training, recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce prepared for integrated primary care working with interdisciplinary teams, (b) provide didactic and experiential training in assessment and treatment of common behavioral health conditions in children, interdisciplinary and team-based care, substance use disorders (SUD)/opioid use disorders (OUD), trauma informed care, and telehealth, (c) establish and maintain academic and community partners, and (d) provide ongoing faculty and staff development. The Psychology Department at the Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has an extensive history of successful workforce training with interns and expansion of integrated primary care, in part due to HRSA funding. Key personnel for this project have over 50 years of combined experience increasing the behavioral health capacity to serve NE through the establishment of academic and community partnerships, leading to retention and expansion the behavioral health workforce across NE. Funding from this GPE grant will allow us to continue to develop our integrated primary care training program to expand access to behavioral health in underserved areas. This project will prioritize ongoing training and development of faculty in the identification and treatment of SUD/OUD and trauma informed care in integrated primary care settings. Our training team will continue to leverage academic and clinical partnerships and expand into high needs, high demand areas.
