Use of the Integrated Practice Assessment Tool (IPAT) to Evaluate the Clinical Learning Environment for Counselors-in-Training

The need for behavioral health integration (BHI) in primary care continues to grow to address the behavioral health needs of patients and families. Developing a competent interprofessional workforce to operate in primary care behavioral health settings necessitates BHI-literate clinical learning environments, as well as tools to evaluate and assist in the integration of services appropriate for BHI training and supervision. The Integrated Practice Assessment Tool (IPAT; Waxmonsky et al., 2014) is an instrument that assesses the level of BHI at a primary care clinic. This paper discusses an example of an implementation approach to examine BHI levels with the IPAT at six primary care clinics over a 4-year period of the HRSA BHWET grant-funded Program of the Integrated Training of Counselors in Behavioral Health (PITCH). Stable to increased levels of BHI were found at each primary care serving as a clinical learning environment for counselors-in-training. Implications are provided for use of the IPAT in BHI training, service delivery, and quality improvement.