Roles and competencies of the clinical psychologist in adult diabetes care-A consensus report.

Rose Stewart, Giesje Nefs, Norbert Hermanns, William H Polonsky, Michael Vallis, Christel Hendrieckx, Frank J Snoek, Brian E McGuire, Maria Teresa Anarte-Ortiz, Therese Anderbro, Katarzyna Cyranka, Liliana Indelicato, Andreia Mocan

Journal: Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association 2024;41(5):e15312

PMID: 38385984

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Abstract

AIMS

Psychological care is recognised as an integral part of quality diabetes care. We set out to describe the roles and competencies of the clinical psychologist as a member of the multidisciplinary adult diabetes care team, focused on secondary care.

METHODS

The authors are clinically experienced psychologists involved in adult diabetes care, from Australia, Europe and North America, and active members of the international psychosocial aspects of diabetes study group. Consensus was reached as a group on the roles and competencies of the clinical psychologist working in adult diabetes secondary care, building both on expert opinion and a selective review and discussion of the literature on psychological care in diabetes, clinical guidelines and competency frameworks.

RESULTS

The clinical psychologist fulfils multiple roles: (1) as a clinician (psychological assessment and therapy), (2) as advisor to the healthcare team (training, consulting), (3) as a communicator and promotor of person-centred care initiatives and (4) as a researcher. Four competencies that are key to successfully fulfilling the above-mentioned roles in a diabetes setting are as follows: (a) specialised knowledge, (b) teamwork and advice, (c) assessment, (d) psychotherapy (referred to as STAP framework).

CONCLUSIONS

The roles and competencies of clinical psychologists working in diabetes extend beyond the requirements of most university and post-graduate curricula. There is a need for a comprehensive, accredited specialist post-graduate training for clinical psychologists working in diabetes care, building on the proposed STAP framework. This calls for a collaborative effort involving diabetes organisations, clinical psychology societies and diabetes psychology interest groups.

Address: Department of Medical Psychology, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamiento Psicológico, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.; Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluacion y Tratamiento Psicologico, Instituto de Investigación Biomedica de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain.; Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.; Department of Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.; Department of Metabolic Diseases, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.; The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.; School of Psychology, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.; Forschungsinstitut Diabetes-Akademie Bad Mergentheim (FIDAM GmbH), Bad Mergentheim, Germany.; Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy of the University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany.; Divission od Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona, Verona, Italy.; School of Psychology, University of Galway and Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Galway University Hospital, Galway, Ireland.; Center for Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, Emergency Clinical County Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.; Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud UMC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.; Diabeter, National Treatment and Research Center for Children, Adolescents and Adults with Type 1 Diabetes, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.; Behavioral Diabetes Institute, San Diego, California, USA.; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.; Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Hospitals and Health Care, North Wales, UK.; Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

DOI: 10.1111/dme.15312

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MeSH Terms: Adult, Humans, Consensus, Clinical Competence, Diabetes Mellitus, Curriculum, Europe