Primary Care Psychology is at the cutting edge of psychology in healthcare, not only around the world, but in Canada as well. As our primary care system is increasingly burdened by mental health, chronic disease, and other behavioural health concerns, psychologists are perfectly placed to become integral members of primary care teams and the healthcare system in general.
While the government is currently reviewing the BCPA proposal for psychologists in primary care, private primary care centres are increasingly looking to hire psychologists. This career path aside, understanding how to cut through complexity and be a generalist is a unique and specialized area in psychology that would benefit clinicians in any context.
Patients rarely present with only one problem, so why do psychologists only train for those without comorbidities? By learning more about brief assessment, brief intervention, functional and contextual case conceptualization, chronic disease management, and the psychology of primary care, psychologists will enhance their practice in primary care as well as in all other settings.
Topics
The event will provide a primer on primary care. This includes:
- System level view of population based care.
- Review of procedural elements of a primary care visit.
- Functional elements of case conceptualization and treatment planning.
Training Objectives
Attendees will be able to*:
- Describe core components of the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model.
- Define the PCBH GATHER approach to care.
- Describe the Four C’s of Primary Care
- Describe common clinical, organizational, and systems barriers that stunt the uptake of PCBH.
- List strategies that create a context for PCBH to be uptaken by the healthcare system.
- Develop their own SMART goals regarding ways of creating a context of inclusion and support of BHCs within their primary care systems.
- Describe the Contextual Interview and how it influences PCBH visits.
- Describe a general outline of PCBH initial visits.
- Describe a general outline of PCBH follow-up visits.
- Describe the theory of functional contextualism.
- Describe the components of the Contextual Interview (CI) and how it relates to a functional contextualist approach.
- Demonstrate the application of the Contextual Interview within clinical visits.
- Describe how clinicians can use the CI to inform intervention selection and promote patient engagement and compassionate healthcare.
*Training objectives may be modified before the event.
Speakers:
Dr. Bridget Beachy & Dr. David Bauman
Drs. Beachy and Bauman, both licensed clinical psychologists, believe healthcare is best delivered from integrated teams that strive to provide contextual and compassionate care. Both former collegiate athletes, their competitiveness has been transferred from the basketball court to providing the most comprehensive and effective consulting services possible.
Working for years as Behavioral Health Consultants in primary care systems, as well as directors of integrated Primary Care Behavioral Health clinical and training programs, Drs. Beachy and Bauman understand the realities health systems are facing and the growing demand of providing services to complex conditions and evolving settings.
Drs. Beachy and Bauman also value the importance of developing people within healthcare organizations and ensuring leaders, providers, and support staff are always connected to their value and their “why.”
For Drs. Beachy and Bauman, their why rests in ensuring healthcare systems are able to reach the communities they serve. Further, they believe the best medicine is made up of evidence-based interventions that prompt compassion and engagement within patients. Drs. Beachy and Bauman also believe leadership is a skill that is developed and taught, rather than an innate quality.