Making the Leap to Socially Responsive Research Training in Health Service Psychology

There is growing recognition that traditional research training in health service psychology (HSP) inadequately addresses issues of social justice, inclusiveness, antiracism, and health equity. Social responsiveness involves using psychologists' professional roles to actively address issues affecting the public while assuming the inherent interdependency of affected individuals and recognizing the interaction among professional values, institutional structures, and personal biases. Despite many published resources on how to conduct research through a socially responsive lens, current approaches to HSP research training seldom adopt this important frame. Therefore, our article has three aims. First, we review current models of HSP research training as well as available tools for evaluating research competencies. We highlight the unhelpful tendency for HSP programs to separate training in research methods from training in competencies related to multiculturalism/diversity. When siloed this way, HSP programs limit trainees' development of the necessary knowledge and skills to make socially responsive decisions when producing and consuming research. Next, we introduce the Council of Chairs of Training Councils' Social Responsiveness Research Training module, which includes practical strategies and recommendations for program directors, instructors, research mentors, and students seeking to promote socially responsive research training. We provide context on the development of the module and facilitate its application by providing specific guidance for its implementation in didactic and research mentorship settings. Finally, based on commentary from experts in the training community, we highlight implementation considerations-opportunities, barriers, and avenues to address barriers-that can inform programs, faculty, and students seeking to use this training module.