BRIEF PSYCHOTHERAPY TRAINING IN MANAGED CARE PROGRAMS

HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE RISING AT EVER INCREASING RATES. MANAGED HEALTH CARE HAS EMERGED AS ONE POSSIBLE WAY OF ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. ALREADY, THERE ARE NEARLY 60 MILLIONPEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO RECEIVED THEIR CARE THROUGH PROGRAMS SUCH AS HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS (HMOS) ANDPREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS (PPOS). THESE MANAGED CARESYSTEMS ALMOST ALWAYS OFFER OUTPATIENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES TO THEIR SUBSCRIBERS WHICH ARE DESCRIBED AS SHORT-TERM IN NATURE. THUS, BRIEF PSYCHOTHERAPY IS EMERGINGAS A VERY IMPORTANT METHOD OF TREATMENT. ALTHOUGH OUTCOME AND QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS WOULD DICTATE THAT PSYCHOTHERAPISTS AT MANAGED CARE PROGRAMS BE EXPERTS IN BRIEF TREATMENT, THIS IS RARELY THE CASE. THE PRINCIPAL AIM OF THE WORK IS TO DEVELOP A SET OF MARKETABLE TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR PSYCHOTHERAPISTS WORKING FOR MANAGED CARE PROGRAMS. USING CURRENT KNOWLEDGE IN BRIEFTHERAPY, ADULT EDUCATION AND EFFECTIVE TRAINING METHODS, WE WOULD STRIVE TO CREATE A SERIES OF PROGRAMS WHICH WOULD BE BOTH PRAGMATIC AND INNOVATIVE. IN PHASE I, WE WILL PRODUCE THE PROTOTYPES FOR TWO TRAINING PROGRAMS AT DIFFERENT LEVELSOF INTENSITY. DURING PHASE II, WE WILL CONDUCT A RANDOMIZEDTRIAL TO COMPARE THE OUTCOMES OF THESE PROGRAMS. WE WILL STUDY CHANGES IN AREAS SUCH AS THERAPIST'S AVERAGE OUTPATIENT UTILIZATION PER CLIENT, PATIENT OUTCOMES, QUALITYOF CARE, LENGTH OF TREATMENT AND PROGRAM ACCEPTANCE. THE FINAL PRODUCTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE A SERIES OF FIELD-TESTED TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR MANAGED CARE CLINICIANS. HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE RISING AT EVER INCREASING RATES. MANAGED HEALTH CARE HAS EMERGED AS ONE POSSIBLE WAY OF ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. ALREADY, THERE ARE NEARLY 60 MILLIONPEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO RECEIVED THEIR CARE THROUGH PROGRAMS SUCH AS HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS (HMOS) ANDPREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS (PPOS). THESE MANAGED CARESYSTEMS ALMOST ALWAYS OFFER OUTPATIENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES TO THEIR SUBSCRIBERS WHICH ARE DESCRIBED AS SHORT-TERM IN NATURE. THUS, BRIEF PSYCHOTHERAPY IS EMERGINGAS A VERY IMPORTANT METHOD OF TREATMENT. ALTHOUGH OUTCOME AND QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS WOULD DICTATE THAT PSYCHOTHERAPISTS AT MANAGED CARE PROGRAMS BE EXPERTS IN BRIEF TREATMENT, THIS IS RARELY THE CASE. THE PRINCIPAL AIM OF THE WORK IS TO DEVELOP A SET OF MARKETABLE TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR PSYCHOTHERAPISTS WORKING FOR MANAGED CARE PROGRAMS. USING CURRENT KNOWLEDGE IN BRIEFTHERAPY, ADULT EDUCATION AND EFFECTIVE TRAINING METHODS, WE WOULD STRIVE TO CREATE A SERIES OF PROGRAMS WHICH WOULD BE BOTH PRAGMATIC AND INNOVATIVE. IN PHASE I, WE WILL PRODUCE THE PROTOTYPES FOR TWO TRAINING PROGRAMS AT DIFFERENT LEVELSOF INTENSITY. DURING PHASE II, WE WILL CONDUCT A RANDOMIZEDTRIAL TO COMPARE THE OUTCOMES OF THESE PROGRAMS. WE WILL STUDY CHANGES IN AREAS SUCH AS THERAPIST'S AVERAGE OUTPATIENT UTILIZATION PER CLIENT, PATIENT OUTCOMES, QUALITYOF CARE, LENGTH OF TREATMENT AND PROGRAM ACCEPTANCE. THE FINAL PRODUCTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE A SERIES OF FIELD-TESTED TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR MANAGED CARE CLINICIANS.