Who is this course for?
This course was originally designed to be conducted in classroom and clinical training settings, with many group activities embedded as well as detailed teaching guides to enable use by all faculty, even those not familiar with integrated primary care. We are pleased to announce that the curriculum is now also available, free of charge, to all members of the Society for Health Psychology (SfHP) – for either teaching or self-study.
Brief description of the course
The course modules can be used/reviewed as a collection or separately depending on program needs or self-study participant interest.
There are four foundation modules that set the stage for working in primary care. Eighteen topic modules related to specific patient behavioral health challenges and physical health conditions and the varied roles of integrated primary care psychologists along the prevention to intervention continuum, complete the curriculum.
Each module includes PowerPoint lectures, notes, exercises, illustrative videos, resources, and references. Supplementary training manuals that elucidate key concepts and offer additional readings and resources accompany the modules. The curriculum was developed by a core group of nine primary care psychologists with vast experience working and training in integrated primary care. Some of the topic modules, such as working with older adults and managing chronic pain, were written by experts in particular subject areas in collaboration with the core team to ensure that they retained a foundation in primary care.
Course Outline
Four Foundational Modules covering a broad array of subjects, including:
- Context of primary care medicine
- Developments in health care, such as the patient-centered medical home and the quadruple aim
- Common patient presentations in primary care
- Core knowledge and skills needed to be effective psychologists in integrated primary care
Initial Group of Eleven Topic Modules:
- Recognizing and managing anxiety disorders in integrated primary care
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) identification and management in integrated primary care
- Role of the psychologist in managing chronic disease in integrated primary care
- Recognizing and managing chronic pain in integrated primary care
- Integrated primary care and depression: Clinical and systems-based practices
- Health promotion and disease prevention in integrated primary care
- Use of motivational enhancement strategies in integrated primary care
- Working with older adults in integrated primary care
- Psychologists as scientists in integrated primary care
- Role of the psychologist in managing substance misuse in integrated primary care
- Primary care psychology training trajectory
NEW – Seven Supplementary Topic Modules:
- Addressing cognitive difficulties in integrated primary care: The role of the psychologist
- Addressing pediatric chronic pain disorders in primary care: The role of the psychologist
- Working in pediatric primary care: The role of the psychologist
- Posttraumatic stress disorder management in integrated primary care
- Addressing substance use disorders in primary care: Introduction to SBIRT
- Symptoms that defy diagnosis: An integrated primary care approach
- Trauma-informed integrated primary care: The why and how of asking and responding
Completion of the curriculum does not confer or imply competence in this subject area. Self-study participants, whether graduate students or practicing psychologists, are encouraged to seek more training through clinical placements, Continuing Education courses, and consultation with established primary care psychologists to build necessary competencies.
How to Access
This course curriculum is freely available to graduate, internship, and post-doctoral faculty to enhance the education of psychology graduate students as well as to graduate students and practicing psychologists who are members of the Society for Health Psychology. The curriculum may not be duplicated for commercial purposes or distributed without the permission of the Society.
As an alternative to accessing the full course, practicing psychologists may participate in a six-hour CE-eligible version of the core SfHP curriculum through the APA Office of Continuing Education.