Patterns of Psychologists’ Interprofessional Collaboration Across Clinical Practice Settings

Healthcare increasingly emphasizes collaborative treatment by multidisciplinary teams. This is the first research focusing on psychologists’ participation in team-based care, the mix of professionals with whom psychologists collaborate, and how these collaborations vary across practice settings. Data are from 1607 respondents participating in the American Psychological Association Center for Workforce Studies’ 2015 on-line Survey of Psychology Health Service Providers. Practice settings differed markedly in systemic organizational support for interprofessional collaboration and in psychologists’ participation in collaborative activities. Psychologists in individual private practice reported least support for and least occurrence of interprofessional collaboration. Psychologists’ collaboration with non-behavioral health professionals, such as non-psychiatrist physicians and nurses, was more frequent in general hospitals and VA medical centers. Across settings, greater contact with another health profession was generally associated with psychologists being more confident about working with that profession. However, for work with psychiatrists, that association was attenuated. A collaborative practice model is presented for psychotherapy patients also treated by physicians or other professionals who manage a patient’s psychotropic medication.