Community for Advanced Practice Skills (CAPS)
What is CAPS?
The Washington State Behavioral Health Workforce Development Initiative (WDI) is a program that seeks to decrease student debt and increase the number of exceptionally prepared graduates committed to working in community behavioral health clinics. Working in these clinics requires specialized training to provide the specific evidence based practices necessary meet the unique needs of their clientele. We have developed a two-year specialized training program to create a better alignment between graduate training and community behavioral health workplace demands. The
training is called Community for Advanced Practice Skills (CAPS).
Why is CAPS Important?
The Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) has developed a list of EBPs that providers need to know to work successfully in certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs). The required EBPs are essential to provide high-quality care across the nine required areas of services that SAMHSA has established for all CCBHCs. Those specific areas of services and EBPs are not comprehensively taught in required graduate courses. While graduate programs in social work, mental health counseling, and marriage/couples and family therapy expertly train graduates for general clinical
services, CAPS is designed to provide the requisite specialized training for CCBHCs.
What is Included in the CAPS Training?
CAPS operates like a “community of practice” that brings together WDI trainees (master-level students), practicum instructors, and local experts for collaborative learning and practice in specialized skills relevant for community behavioral health. Through a combination of 90-minute live and asynchronous sessions, local experts present didactic content on a specialized set of skills, with practice sessions interspersed throughout the year. During these practice sessions, WDI trainees participate in interactive activities and coaching to build mastery in each skill, under the close supervision of seasoned clinicians.
CAPS training builds progressively over the two years. Year one features monthly sessions focused on foundational skills for CCBHCs. Trainees hone skills such as motivational interviewing to increase treatment engagement and contracting for services with harm reduction goals. At the end of year one, students self-select into a track for year two (“adults” or “children, youth, and families”) and develop an individualized training plan. Each year-two track expands on foundational skills and features 20 weekly sessions of advanced skills designed for CCBHCs. Trainees learn
skills such as motivational enhancement therapy for substance use and cognitive behavioral approaches to treat a variety of clinical problems, including anxiety, depression, externalizing behaviors, trauma, and psychosis.
