Development of an accelerated curriculum for clinical psychology doctoral students in substance use disorders and integrated care.

Abstract

Recently, a significant increase in the population with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and Opioid Use Disorders (OUD) has been documented. This scenario is a complex one that adversely impacts disadvantaged populations and health systems in Puerto Rico. Similarly, limited access to adequate health services for the population with SUD/OUD has been studied. In addition, there is a need for trained behavioral health professionals with the right competencies to offer evidence-based services to people with SUD/OUD. This scenario points out the need for clinical psychology doctoral programs with specialized curriculum in SUD/OUD and integrated care at a reasonable time that allows for expanding the base of competent professionals in these services. OBJECTIVE: This work aims to discuss the results of developing and validating a curriculum for evidence-based behavioral health clinical training in SUD/OUD and integrated care in one (1) year. METHOD: A specialized SUD/OUD and integrated care curriculum were developed to achieve the objective. The curriculum developed was evaluated by a panel of experts. The recommendations were integrated into the final version of the curriculum. RESULTS: The curriculum revised in its final version contains thirty-three (33) training distributed in the following areas of focus: 1) SUD; 2) OUD; 3) Primary Care; 4) Integrated Care; 5) Tele-Psychology. The thematic areas of the training are distributed in three levels of complexity: basic, intermediate, and advanced. DISCUSSION: The accelerated curriculum for clinical training in SUD/OUD and integrated care developed offers a crucial opportunity to train professionals at the doctoral level with the necessary competencies to work with people affected by SUD and OUD. In addition, it offers a unique opportunity to integrate theory and practice in one (1) year, increasing the base of trained professionals. This program is a crucial opportunity to continue strengthening access to specialized and integrated services for SUD and OUD and close the disparity gaps that impact the population affected by SUD and OUD.