Graduate Psychology Education Programs - Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-25-067 CFDA(s): 93.191 Applicant Name: Southern Utah University Descriptive Title of Applicant’s Project: Utah Psychology Internship Consortium (UT-PIC) Funding Preference: Qualification 1 Funding Priority: Priority 1 Recruiting, training, and retaining a well-prepared behavioral health workforce is critical to addressing the growing need and demand for mental health and opioid use disorder (OUD)/substance use disorder (SUD) services. Utah faces a significant and well-documented workforce shortage, particularly in rural, and Health Resources and Services Administration (HPSA) designated underserved areas, where access to mental health and OUD/SUD services are limited. The Utah Center for Rural Health (UCRH) at Southern Utah University (SUU) is a demonstrated champion in addressing these needs by providing mentorship and support to the Utah Psychology Internship Consortium (UT-PIC), which represents the collaborative effort of multiple Utah agencies to share resources and faculty to provide a diversified educational program for psychology doctoral interns. The aim of UT-PIC is to recruit, train and retain high-quality, culturally-competent psychologists to provide behavioral health care for the rural and underserved people of Utah. Established in 2019, UT-PIC operates as a fully accredited APA psychology internship program, and has graduated five cohorts of interns to date (25 total graduates), with a 100% program completion rate. This proposal seeks to expand the capacity of SUU and UT-PIC to recruit, train, and retain an increased number of high-quality behavioral health providers equipped to serve areas of high need and demand. Thus, SUU and UT-PIC will focus on the following objectives: 1) Recruit: To recruit high-quality interns, SUU and UT-PIC will enhance its stipend offerings to attract an increased pool of qualified candidates. Currently we receive 58 applications for 7 intern seats. Our goal is to enhance training for current interns and increase the applicant pool to have more interns with connections to Utah. Recognizing that financial incentives are a key factor in the decision to pursue and complete internships, especially in rural and underserved areas, SUU and UT-PIC aim to make the internship program more accessible and appealing via stipends. Motivated and talented interns who are committed to serving in high-need areas will strengthen the Utah behavioral health workforce. 2) Train: SUU and UT-PIC will enhance its didactic training curriculum by developing trainings that emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, and evidence-based practices in trauma-informed care, and OUD/SUD prevention and treatment. By integrating professionals from various fields into the training process, including those from primary care and substance use treatment backgrounds, SUU and UT-PIC will both foster an environment that encourages collaborative, holistic care, and help develop health service psychology faculty. 3) Retain: To retain graduated interns in Utah and maintain successful activities beyond the life of this funding opportunity, SUU and UT-PIC will implement a comprehensive support system throughout the internship and beyond. This will include ongoing professional development, opportunities to present didactic training to interns, increased alumni engagement, establishment of an advisory board and opportunities for continued engagement with the consortium’s academic and clinical partnerships. Funding this proposal will have a lasting impact on Utah’s rural and underserved communities. By expanding UT-PIC’s capacity to recruit, train, and retain culturally competent psychologists, the program will help alleviate the state’s behavioral health workforce shortage where the need is most urgent. SUU and UT-PIC have already demonstrated its effectiveness in accomplishing these ends, and are eager for the opportunity to expand behavioral health solutions in rural and underserved Utah.
