Abstract
The prevalence and complexities associated with the co-existence of mental and physical health conditions remain a serious concern that warrants integrated care (IC)—a collaborative multi-disciplinary system of care delivery incorporating primary care with behavioral health that ensures consumer access to continuous and appropriate care. In this study, we examined the relationship between graduate counseling students’ characteristics—gender, field experience, and training in IC and their self-perceived competency in IC. Data from 243 participants in graduate counselor education programs from the United States (U.S.) were collected using the Integrated Care Competency Scale, and analyzed using MANOVA and multiple regression analyses. Results indicated that access to IC training and field experiences were linked to higher self-reported competencies in IC. Moreover, the findings revealed that counseling students’ specialty, exposure to training, and field experience were good predictors of competency in IC. Implications for counselor education training and further research are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data used in this research article are cited throughout the manuscript.
Code availability
There was no customized code, the SPSS statistical software (version 25) was used in analyzing the data.
References
American Counseling Association (2010) Department of veterans affairs recognizes licensed professional mental health counselors. American Counseling Association News. https://www.counseling.org/news/updates/by-year/2010/2010/10/04/department-of-veterans-affairs-recognizes-licensed-professional-mental-health-counselors! Accessed 4 Oct 2020
American Counseling Association (2018) Medicare reimbursement measure builds momentum. American Counseling Association News. https://www.counseling.org/news/aca-blogs/aca-government-affairs-blog/aca-government-affairs-blog/2018/03/23/medicare-reimbursement-measure-builds-momentum. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
American Mental Health Counselors Association (2017) AMHCA standards for the practice of clinical mental health counseling. AMHCA Home Studies. https://www.amhca.org/viewdocument/amhca-standards-for-the-practice-of. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
American Mental Health Counselors Association (2019) Mental health access improvement act. American Mental Health Counselors Association Search. https://www.amhca.org/search?executeSearch=true&SearchTerm=Mental+health+access+improvement+act&l=1. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Addy CL, Browne T, Blake EW, Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education: integrating public health and social work perspectives. Am J Public Health 105(S1):S106–S108
Aguirre J, Carrion VG (2013) Integrated behavioral health services: A collaborative care model for pediatric consumers in a low-income setting. Clinical Pediatrics 20(10):1–3.
Asempapa B (2017) Exploring counseling students’ perceived competencies about integrated care (Doctoral dissertation). http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1490828580486265. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Asempapa B, Asempapa RS (2019) Development and initial psychometric properties of the integrated care competency scale for counselors. SAGE Open 9(3):1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019870782
Asempapa B, Asempapa RS (2020) Integrated care competency scale: The development and validation process. Paper presented at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) 2020 Assessment and Research Conference.
Ateah CA, Snow W, Wener P, MacDonald L, Metge C, Davis P, Fricke M, Ludwig S, Anderson J (2011) Stereotyping as a barrier to collaboration: does interprofessional education make a difference? Nurse Educ Today 31(2):208–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2010.06.004
Bernard JM, Goodyear RK (2014) Fundamentals of clinical supervision, 5th edn. Pearson, New York
Blount FA, Bailey S (2014) Integrated primary care: practice and training implications [Interview transcript]. Field Educator Interview. https://www2.simmons.edu/ssw/fe/i/Conversation_4.2.pdf. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Blount FA, Miller BF (2009) Addressing the workforce crisis in integrated primary care. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 16(1):113–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-008-9142-7
Borders LD, Brown JB, Purgason LL (2015) Triadic supervision with practicum and internship counseling students: a peer supervision approach. Clin Superv 34(2):232–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/07325223.2015.1027024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) Mental health and chronic diseases. Mental Health and Chronis Diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/pdfs/issue-brief-no-2-mental-health-and-chronic-disease.pdf. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2016) CACREP standards. 2016 CACREP Standards. https://www.cacrep.org/for-programs/2016-cacrep-standards/. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2018) CACREP annual report 2017. Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.
Cox J, Adams E, Loughran MJ (2014) Behavioral health training is good medicine for counseling trainees: two curricular experiences in interprofessional collaboration. J Mental Health Counsel 36(2):115–129
Cubic B, Mance J, Turgesen JN, Lamanna JD (2012) Interprofessional education: preparing psychologists for success in integrated primary care. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 19(1):84–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-011-9291-y
Edwards TM, Patterson EJ (2006) Supervising family therapist trainees in primary care medical settings: Context matters. J Marital Fam Ther 32(1):33–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2006.tb01586.x
Gersh GM (2008) Counselors working in integrated primary behavioral health and the influence of professional identity: a phenomenological study (Doctoral Dissertation). https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1771&context=dissertations. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Glueck BP (2015) Roles, attitudes, and training needs of behavioral health clinicians in integrated primary care. J Mental Health Counsel 37(5):175–188
Health Resources and Services Administration (2018) Active grants for HRSA program(s): Mental and behavioral educationn and training, behavioral health workforce education and training program. HRSA Grants. https://ersrs.hrsa.govReportServer/Pages/ReportViewer.aspx?/HGDW_Reports/FindGrants/GRANT_FIND&ACTIVITY=M01&rs:Format=HTML4.0. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Hoge MA, Morris JA, Laraia M, Pomerantz A, Farley T (2014) Core competencies for integrated behavioral health and primary care. SAMHSA News. https://www.integration.samhsa.gov/workforce/integration_competencies_final.pdf. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Ikonomopoulos J, Cavazos Vela J, Smith WD, Dell’Aquila J (2016) Examining the practicum experience to increase counseling students’ self-efficacy. Prof Couns 6(2):161–173
Johnson KF, Freeman KL (2014) Integrating interprofessional education and collaboration competencies (IPEC) into mental health counselor education. J Mental Health Couns 36(4):328–344
Kalkbrenner MT, Sink CA (2018) Development and validation of the college mental health perceived competency scale. Prof Couns 8(2):175–189
Klein E (2015) Supervision of social work interns as members of a multidisciplinary team. Res Soc Work Pract. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731515569581
McDaniel SH, Belar CD, Schroeder C, Hargrove DS, Freeman EL (2002) A training curriculum for professional psychologists in primary care. Prof Psychol Res Pract 33:65–72
Meyers LS, Gamst G, Guarino AJ (2017) Applied multivariate research: design and interpretation, 3rd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Pratt KJ, Lamson AL (2011) Supervision in behavioral health: implications for students, interns, and new professionals. J Behav Health Serv Res 39(3):285–294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-011-9267-6
Ratts MJ (2009) Social justice counseling: toward the development of a fifth force among counseling paradigms. J Humanist Couns Educ Dev 48:160–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1939.2009.tb00076.x
Reeves S, Hean S (2013) Why we need theory to help us better understand the nature of interprofessional education, practice and care. J Interprof Care 27:1–3. https://doi.org/10.3109/13561820.2013.751293
Robinson P, Reiter J (2007) Behavioral consultation and primary care: a guide to integrating services. Springer, New York
SAMHSA–HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions. (n.d.). About CIHS. http://www.integration.samhsa.gov/about-us/about-cihs. Accessed 4 Oct 2020
Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (2001) Using multivariate statistics, 4th edn. Allen and Bacon, Boston
Talen MR, Fraser JS, Gauley K (2005) Training primary care psychologists: a model for predoctoral programs. Prof Psychol Res Pract 36:136–143. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.34.6.586
Vereen LG, Yates C, Hudock D, Hill NR, Jemmett M, O’Donnell J, Knudson S (2018) The phenomena of collaborative practice: the impact of interprofessional education. Int J Adv Couns 40(4):427–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-018-9335-1
Warner RM (2013) Applied statistics: from bivariate through multivariate techniques: from bivariate through multivariate techniques, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Zeiss AM, Karlin BE (2008) Integrating mental health and primary care services in the department of veterans affairs health care system. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 15(1):73–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-008-9100-4
Funding
No source of funding for this research work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors evenly contributed to the whole research project. Additionally, all authors read and approved the final manuscript for submission.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
There are no competing interests. On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Asempapa, B., Asempapa, R.S. & Bhat, C.S. Integrated care competencies: Self-assessment by graduate counseling students. SN Soc Sci 1, 182 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00180-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00180-z