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Evaluation ViewAttendees 1

Dissemination & Implementation Science
Session Type:: Symposia

Symposium 72 - Expanding and Extending the Workforce to Improve Mental Health: Diverse Applications of Task-Sharing Models

Sunday, November 23, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM CST
Location: Empire D, Level 2
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Underserved Populations, Community-Based
Level of Familiarity: All
Recommended Readings: Areán, P. A., O’Connor, S., & Sherrill, J. (2025). The Promise and Perils of Using Peers and Other Paraprofessionals as Mental Health Service Professionals. JAMA Psychiatry, 82(2):107-108. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.4276,   Barnett, M. L., Gonzalez, A., Miranda, J., Chavira, D. A., & Lau, A. S. (2018). Mobilizing Community Health Workers to Address Mental Health Disparities for Underserved Populations: A Systematic Review. Administration and policy in mental health, 45(2), 195–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0815-0,   O’Connell, W. P., Renn, B. N., Areán, P. A., Raue, P. J., & Ratzliff, A. (2024). Behavioral health workforce development in Washington State: Addition of a behavioral health support specialist. Psychiatric Services, 75(10), 1042-1044. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20230312,   Singla, D. R. (2021). Scaling up psychological treatments: Lessons learned from global mental health. American Psychologist, 76(9), 1457-1467. doi: 10.1037/amp0000944,   Dorsey, S., Gray, C. L., Wasonga, A. I., Amanya, C., Weiner, B. J., Belden, C. M., ... & Whetten, K. (2020). Advancing successful implementation of task-shifted mental health care in low-resource settings (BASIC): Protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial. BMC Psychiatry, 20, 1-14. doi:10.1186/ s12888-019-2364-4

Approximately half of U.S. adults with mental health needs do not receive treatment (SAMHSA, 2024); unmet treatment needs are even more pronounced among children, low-resourced communities, and in many international contexts. In addition to cost, location, and other institutional barriers, provider shortage and an uneven workforce distribution of mental health professionals are notable hindrances to accessing and utilizing mental health care. Given the effectiveness of behavioral interventions and other psychotherapies as first-line treatments for many common mental health conditions, new models of care are desperately needed to expand existing workforce capacity and reach. One such approach equips nonspecialist providers to deliver brief evidence-based interventions, thereby expanding access to care. This symposium presents the reach and impact of cognitive behavioral therapies through studies that extend or enhance the workforce via nonspecialist-delivered interventions.

Four presentations will describe community-engaged studies that include diverse populations with regard to age, country, clinical diagnoses, racial/ethnic identities, and settings. Presenters span a range of professions (clinical psychology, psychiatry) and professional roles (graduate student, early- and mid-career faculty). The first speaker will present primary results from the largest psychotherapy trial for perinatal populations worldwide, comparing depression and anxiety outcomes of brief, 8-session behavioral activation across provider type (specialists vs. nonspecialists) and delivery mode (telemedicine vs. in-person) from a multi-site trial in Canada and the US. The second presenter will discuss the feasibility of a digital peer support coping intervention delivered by older adult peer coaches intended to improve geriatric mental health. The third speaker will present data from a novel configurational comparative method to understand organizational factors that protect against secondary traumatic stress among lay counselors delivering a culturally adapted version of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for youth in Kenya. The fourth presentation details a feasibility demonstration using trained bachelor-level nonspecialist providers who delivered CBT strategies to adults with anxiety.

The Discussant will synthesize these findings in the broader context of dissemination and implementation science and mental health services research. She will draw on her expertise as a clinical psychologist with extensive academic, industry, and federal research experience to comment on the pressing need to (1) operationalize and test clear roles for such nonspecialists; (2) consider scalable and sustainable approaches to training and supervision, with attention to cultural humility and safety; (3) delineate policy issues related to financing and credentialing; and (4) assess effectiveness of such models on addressing stigma and institutional barriers to accessing care. The symposium will conclude with an interactive discussion around the timely topic of adapting interventions and implementation strategies to ensure wider dissemination—and ultimately uptake—of evidence-based practices.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Summarize novel approaches to improve access to evidence-based interventions for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  2. Identify how principles of community-engaged research can advance research progress and clinical practice.
  3. Describe strategies for adapting CBT strategies to be relevant and acceptable for non-specialty care settings.
  4. Consider how community-engaged research can advance research progress in intervention development and implementation.
  5. Advance professional and scholarly dialogue regarding novel approaches to expanding the behavioral health workforce.

Presentations:

  • 2:06 PM - 2:27 PM CST
    (SYM 72) Scaling up Maternal Mental Healthcare by Increasing Access to Treatment (SUMMIT): Task-sharing and Telemedicine to Improve Access to Mental Healthcare

    Speaker: Daisy R. Singla, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Toronto

    Co-author: Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH – Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina

    Co-author: Richard Silver, MD – Endeavor Health (formerly Northshore University Health System)

    Co-author: Simone Vigod, MD, MSc, FRCPC – Department of Psychiatry, Women’s College Hospital

  • 2:27 PM - 2:48 PM CST
    (SYM 72) Results from a Mixed Methods Feasibility Study: Digital Peer Support for Depression Among Diverse Older Adults

    Speaker: Jin hui Joo, M.D. (she/her/hers) – Massachusetts General Hospital

    Co-author: Alice Xie, B.S., B.A. – Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

    Co-author: Namkee Choi, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Texas

    Co-author: Joseph locascio, PhD (he/him/his) – Massachusetts General Hospital

    Co-author: Mingyue Ma, M.S. – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

    Co-author: Ryan Mace, PhD (he/him/his) – Massachusetts General Hospital

    Co-author: Phyllis Solomon, PhD (she/her/hers) – School of Social Policy & Practice University of Pennsylvania

  • 2:48 PM - 3:09 PM CST
    (SYM 72) Organizational Determinants of Secondary Traumatic Stress Absence in Lay Counselors Delivering Culturally Adapted Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Kenya

    Speaker: Priya Dahiya, B.A. (she/her/hers) – University of Washington, Seattle

    Co-author: Clara M. Johnson, M.S. – University of Washington, Seattle

    Co-author: Rashed Al Rasheed, MS (he/him/his) – University of Washington

    Co-author: Celine Lu, B.A. – University of Washington, Seattle

    Co-author: Kathryn Whetten, phD (she/her/hers) – Duke University

    Co-author: Christine Gray, PhD (she/her/hers) – Duke University

    Co-author: Shannon Dorsey, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Washington

  • 3:09 PM - 3:30 PM CST
    (SYM 72) Outcomes of a Brief, Nonspecialist-delivered Behavioral Intervention for Anxiety

    Speaker: Brenna N. Renn, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    Co-author: Rakshitha Mohankumar, M.A. – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    Co-author: Aimy Paulsen, BA – University of Washington

    Co-author: Vanessa Flores, B.S. – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    Co-author: Patrick J. Raue, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – University of Washington School of Medicine