TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 3-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 3 311 and enhanced communication among behavioral health and PCPs; however, practice change toward system-level integration is underdeveloped. Finally, Levels 5 and 6 are indicative of transformed, team- based approaches in which both “providers and patients view the operation as a single health system treating the whole person” (Heath et al., 2013, p. 6). Focus groups also were conducted with members of selected clinical training sites to explore barriers and pathways to PCBH delivery as a function of level of integration. At this time, the IPAT has not yet been formally assessed for psychometric properties. Rapid Cycle Quality Improvement Finally, program evaluation efforts include ongoing rapid cycle quality improvement (RCQI), a quality-improvement method that identifies, implements, and measures changes to improve a process or a system (Center for Health Workforce Studies, 2016). RCQI can be targeted at different aspects of the program. To date, RCQI has targeted trainee competencies related to functional assessment interviews, breadth of referrals concerns, and patient visit length. For example, after tracking trends in daily activity logs submitted by trainees, we noted a majority of referrals centered on anxiety and depression. We then provided supplemental training on identifying behavioral health concerns related to chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and asthma. Following this instruction, we reviewed the daily activity logs and noted greater breadth of referral concerns. Challenges and Solutions Best practices for PCBH implementation within the context of workforce development are still developing. Further, available guidelines do not speak to counselor training programs specifically. In the section below, we discuss challenges we have encountered in the first 1.5 years of implementation of the PITCH program. We also share solutions we have generated to support optimal training experiences. Challenge: On-Site Clinical Supervision A significant challenge we encountered was related to on-site clinical supervision for the PITCH trainees. National accreditation standards require trainees to participate in regular supervision with both an on-site and university supervisor (CACREP, 2016). The on-site supervisor must have at least 2 years of postgraduate experience, as well as hold a master’s degree in counseling or a related field (e.g., psychology, social work). Furthermore, best practices for BHC training support a scaffolded supervision approach (Dobmeyer et al., 2003), wherein trainees’ initial time is spent completing 360 clinic shadowing visits with an experienced BHC. As trainee skills develop, leadership within patient visits transitions from co-visits to visits. In time, the trainee leads the visits, with an experienced BHC in independent practice shadowing. Additionally, the PCBH model emphasizes preceptor-style supervision, where the supervisor is readily available on-site for patient consultation as needed (Dobmeyer et al., 2003). Solution: Changes to Specialized Field Placement Sites During Year 1 of PITCH, almost two thirds of the specialized field placement sites we partnered with did not employ the PCBH model at the time, and thus did not have a BHC available to provide on-site clinical supervision. To meet this need, we provided intensive PCBH and supervision training to four doctoral students enrolled in our counselor education and supervision program. Doctoral student supervisors were asked to spend at least half a day on-site with trainees with this amount tapering off with time and experience. Although this solution met national accreditation requirements for supervision (CACREP, 2016), we noticed stark differences between the clinical experiences of trainees placed at field sites with an on-site BHC versus doctoral student supervisors. As such, we made the difficult decision in Year 2