Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program - Mohala Liko Lehua literally translates as “blossoming flower buds of the ?ohi?a tree.” Figuratively, and for the intent of our program, we translate it as “blossoming new experts.” Our proposed training program, referred to here as Mohala Liko Lehua: Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Interdisciplinary Training Program, will expand the existing collaborative relationships across current practice sites within the Kumu Ola Behavioral Health Program housed under the University of Hawai?i at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine’s (JABSOM) Department of Native Hawaiian Health (DNHH). These sites include Ka Malu A Wa?ahila, Hui Ho?omalu Holistic Health and Wellness Services, and The Queen’s Health Care System Ambulatory Care Clinics. Each of these training sites individually represents a unique clinical training experience with the Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI) population. Mohala Liko Lehua will allow us to create an intentional training program with a curriculum centered around NHPI history, historical and cultural trauma, cultural resilience, and worldview to strengthen therapeutic relationships and the quality as well as delivery of services for our NHPI emerging adults. The specific purpose of the grant is to build capacity through an NHPI interdisciplinary clinical psychology and social work training pathway to close the gap between the behavioral health needs of our NHPI community and the dearth of Indigenous or Indigenous-trained behavioral health providers. Mohala Liko Lehua will allow us to create an intentional training program with a curriculum centered around NHPI history, historical and cultural trauma, cultural resilience, and worldview to strengthen therapeutic relationships and the quality as well as delivery of services for our NHPI children, adolescents, and adults. This grant will build capacity through an NHPI interdisciplinary clinical psychology and social work training pathway to close the gap between the behavioral health needs of our NHPI community and the dearth of Indigenous or Indigenous-trained behavioral health providers. Hawai‘i is uniquely situated as a training site to address the social and cultural determinants of health. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders experience higher risks and poorer health and mental health status than the general population, and they have the highest inequities in income, education, and access to health care, particularly in medically underserved areas. NHPI make up only 0.1-0.3% of the behavioral health workforce, despite growing needs for services amongst this population. This program seeks to expand our Kumu Ola Health Psychology Program by increasing collaborations with current partners to create six new training slots annually. The Mohala Liko Lehua program aims to enhance mental health capacity by providing an interdisciplinary training pathway in clinical psychology and social work training pathway for NHPI. The program is structured around a blend of the empirically validated situated learning theory and the principles of Hawaiian leadership development, fostering a community of practice. Trainees will develop new skills in interdisciplinary environments where they will ultimately work and deliver evidence-based, culturally grounded interventions. The program will provide an intentional and organized training experience to guide trainees from novice to expert while fostering pilina (relationships or connections) among peers in their cohort. Each graduating class contributes to a growing network of expertise, naturally building peer and near-peer support within a thriving Indigenous community of professionals. Incorporating Hawaiian leadership principles of engagement, enlightenment, empowerment, and system transformation in each cohort and the NHPI communities they serve will help our nation become more psychologically resilient. This approach emphasizes strengthening cultural identity and celebrating Indigenous strengths, wisdom, and joy.
