Date of Award
Spring 2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Counseling & Human Services
Program/Concentration
Counseling
Committee Director
Gülşah Kemer
Committee Member
Lauren Robins
Committee Member
Helen Crompton
Abstract
The integration of behavioral health into primary care settings, known as Integrated Primary Care (IPC), offers a holistic approach to addressing both physical and mental health needs (Ramanuj et al., 2019). Efforts to expand access to mental healthcare have contributed to the growing presence of IPC settings (Martin 2017), with mental health providers, such as mental health counselors, joining these teams as Behavioral Health Providers (BHPs; Blount, 2017). However, the unique complexities of IPC often leave BHPs feeling underprepared, largely due to the traditional training frameworks emphasized in many graduate counseling programs. The need for BHPs to adapt to the fast-paced, population-based, and team-oriented nature of IPC (Reiter et al., 2017) underscores the importance of developing cognitive complexity (CC), a key capacity for effective clinical decision-making in these settings. This study employed a mixed-methods approach using Concept Mapping (Trochim, 1989) to explore how clinical site supervisors collectively define, organize, and prioritize supervisory practices most critical to fostering CC among BHPs in IPC. The study resulted in 143 generated statements organized into 16 clusters across four overarching regions. The findings offer valuable implications for clinical supervisors in IPC, mental health counseling BHPs, and counselor educators seeking to better support supervisees in integrated care environments.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
DOI
10.25777/592g-e697
ISBN
9798280747166
Recommended Citation
Nako, Katherina.
"Fostering Cognitive Complexity in Behavioral Health Providers: Perspectives From Supervisors in Integrated Primary Care"
(2025). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, Counseling & Human Services, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/592g-e697
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/chs_etds/177
Included in
Cognitive Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Mental and Social Health Commons, Primary Care Commons