A novel training program for mental health providers in religious and spiritual competencies.

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle J. Pearce ◽  
Kenneth I. Pargament ◽  
Holly K. Oxhandler ◽  
Cassandra Vieten ◽  
Serena Wong
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Spiritual Competencies

scholarly journals A novel training program for mental health providers in spiritual competencies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Pearce ◽  
Kenneth Pargament ◽  
Holly Oxhandler ◽  
Cassandra Vieten ◽  
Serena Wong
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Spiritual Competencies

Religion and spirituality are areas of diversity and multiculturalism that have yet to be comprehensively addressed in most mental health training programs. Without this type of training, many practitioners lack the competence and confidence to engage in spiritually competent care–clinical practice that recognizes the importance of religion and spirituality in people’s identity, worldview, meaning-making and, therefore, their psychological well-being. Emerging research on treatment outcomes and client preferences, as well as professional ethical mandates, support the need for training in spiritual competencies for mental health care. To address the gap between current professional training and the needs and realities of clinical practice, we have developed an online training program to assist practitioners in building their competency and comfort levels in integrating religion and spirituality into treatment. Spiritual Competency Training in Mental Health (SCT-MH) is a seven hour asynchronous, online program consisting of eight modules. The modules are designed to develop basic competency in 16 empirically-derived spiritual competencies in mental health. The content was derived from numerous instructional materials and peer-reviewed publications, with input from leading experts in the field of spirituality and mental health. It is a multidisciplinary program, allowing mental health providers from any discipline and orientation to participate. The material is applicable for working with clients with a wide range of mental health issues from diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds. In this manuscript, we will discuss how the program was developed, what it entails, who it was developed for, and future efforts to test it empirically.

Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM): An Evaluation of a Suicide Prevention Means Restriction Training Program for Mental Health Providers

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Sale ◽  
Michelle Hendricks ◽  
Virginia Weil ◽  
Collin Miller ◽  
Scott Perkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Lethal Means

Development of a Scale to Assess Mental Health Providers' Mindfulness in Session

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Calderon ◽  
Paul E. Hagan ◽  
Jennifer A. Munch ◽  
Crystal Rofkahr ◽  
Sinead Unsworth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers

Addressing COVID-19 Worry and Social Isolation in Home-Based Primary Care

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Elizabeth Weiskittle ◽  
Michelle Mlinac ◽  
LICSW Nicole Downing
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Home Based Primary Care ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Socially Isolated

Social distancing measures following the outbreak of COVID-19 have led to a rapid shift to virtual and telephone care. Social workers and mental health providers in VA home-based primary care (HBPC) teams face challenges providing psychosocial support to their homebound, medically complex, socially isolated patient population who are high risk for poor health outcomes related to COVID-19. We developed and disseminated an 8-week telephone or virtual group intervention for front-line HBPC social workers and mental health providers to use with socially isolated, medically complex older adults. The intervention draws on skills from evidence-based psychotherapies for older adults including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Problem-Solving Therapy. The manual was disseminated to VA HBPC clinicians and geriatrics providers across the United States in March 2020 for expeditious implementation. Eighteen HBPC teams and three VA Primary Care teams reported immediate delivery of a local virtual or telephone group using the manual. In this paper we describe the manual’s development and clinical recommendations for its application across geriatric care settings. Future evaluation will identify ways to meet longer-term social isolation and evolving mental health needs for this patient population as the pandemic continues.

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