Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program

  The program will foster an integrated and interprofessional approach to addressing access to behavioral health care for vulnerable and underserved populations.  Section 791 of the PHS Act authorizes a Medically Underserved Community (MUC) Funding Preference for this program.  To receive the MUC funding preference, eligible applicants must specifically request the funding preference in Attachment 7, meet the MUC preference requirements, and rank above the 20th percentile of applications recommended for approval, as described in section V.2 of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA). The GPE Program supports American Psychology Association (APA) accredited: 1) graduate training schools and programs targeting doctoral psychology students interested in clinical practice with vulnerable and underserved populations, and 2) state and local governments, public or private nonprofit entities with pre-degree internships for students enrolled in a doctoral psychology program to advance their preparation in a more defined area of clinical and interprofessional practice.  The changing health care landscape necessitates that educational curriculum and practice competencies be much more closely aligned.  The student/trainee should experience a seamless transition in their application of theory and knowledge to their clinical work.  Schools and programs must begin to develop and demonstrate dialogues with practice settings and vice versa.  Academia must consult with and utilize the expertise of the pre-degree internships in their curriculum development and instructional design.  Pre-degree internships must demonstrate how trainees are applying new paradigms and concepts through practice in their internship experiences.  As authorized by Section 750(a) of PHS Act, GPE-funded programs must be implemented in collaboration with two or more medical or behavioral health disciplines. The GPE Program includes specific program purposes developed in order to address identified needs in clinical practice in behavioral health care for the vulnerable and underserved.  These specific purposes are: 1) education and training program content and design, and 2) experiential learning for psychology students in pre-degree internships.  Funding is available for APA-accredited psychology schools and programs that provide didactic training to doctoral students interested in working with vulnerable and underserved populations, and state and local governments, or other appropriate public or private nonprofit entities that support pre-degree internship training in clinical psychology practice.  For a more systematic progression of didactic education to clinical training, the GPE program funds the distinction and integration of these two facets in the training continuum.  All proposed projects must address one of the program purposes listed below: 1)      Education and Training Program Content and Design (Psychology Schools and Programs): The GPE program supports the implementation of projects that propose to address the behavioral health needs of the vulnerable and underserved by improving the knowledge, skills, competencies, and outcomes of the behavioral health professions workforce through didactic training.  The focus of the didactic training can be on clinical practice including the integration of behavioral health, primary care, prevention and public health competencies.  Proposed projects should include interprofessional approaches to education and training.  Funds can be used for faculty development, curriculum and instructional design, program content enhancement, and program infrastructure development.  Schools and programs must consult with and utilize the expertise of the pre-degree internships in their curriculum development and instructional design. 2)      Experiential Learning for Psychology Students and Graduates (Pre-degree internships): In addition to applications addressing education and training program content purposes, applications are sought for innovative program development and interprofessional training with psychology interns.  Applications should strive to increase the number of doctoral psychologists receiving training experiences through the development of innovative approaches in either establishing new programs or expanding existing pre-degree internship programs.  In addition to the integration of behavioral health care into primary care and public health and the focus on vulnerable and underserved populations, applications should address innovative approaches to interprofessional practice.  Funding for state and local governments or other appropriate public or private nonprofit entities can be used to support students in the pre-degree internship as well as to support supervision and training of these students.  Pre-degree internship applications must demonstrate how trainees will apply new paradigms and concepts through practice in their internship experiences.  The specific objectives of this program are to: 1)      Increase the number of graduating psychologists per academic year with a doctoral degree who have had educational training and internship experiences in behavioral health with vulnerable and underserved populations; 2)      Develop and implement interprofessional training in behavioral health with vulnerable and underserved communities; 3)      Emphasize the integration of behavioral health, primary care, and public health into clinical practice; 4)      Provide experiential training for doctoral level psychology students during the existing or expanded pre-degree internship.  This includes increasing the number of internship slots; and 5)      Increase the number of psychologists with a doctoral degree who work in organizations that serve the vulnerable and underserved via clinical practice.