Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program - Project Abstract Behavioral Health Expansion in Northeast Texas through Integrated Care Education The University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center The Northeast Texas region is a rural and highly underserved area facing considerable behavioral health workforce challenges. In fact, all counties in the region are designated as a mental health professional shortage area. As one of six academic medical centers in the University of Texas system, UT Tyler Health Science Center houses training programs in both medicine and behavioral health and, with three different clinics designated as Patient Centered Medical Homes, provides high quality training in interdisciplinary and integrated care. The UT Tyler Health Science Center Psychology Internship Program is the only APA-accredited doctoral psychology internship program in Northeast Texas, a region which spans over 25,000 square miles. The internship program is a key resource in the area both for providing integrated care to underserved citizens as well as providing high quality interdisciplinary training. If funded, the proposed project will improve the doctoral psychology internship program’s capacity to train psychology interns in integrated behavioral health, trauma-informed care, and child and adolescent psychology. Specifically, funding will be used to train 24 additional interns during the grant period, with 6 internship slots added in each of grant years 1 through 4. Interns will work and train alongside medical professionals, residents, and interdisciplinary teams. Additional goals of the proposal include enhancing the program’s existing integrated care training curriculum through the addition of enhanced training rotations, as well as expanding the training through new community partnerships. Interns will receive extensive training in trauma-informed modalities, motivational interviewing, and primary care behavioral health. All project activities have been developed with an emphasis on training interns to provide culturally competent care for vulnerable, rural, and underserved populations UT Tyler Health Science Center is submitting only one application for the Professional track. UTTHSC meets the criteria for and formally requests a funding preference, as well as funding priority based on Qualification 1.
