Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health Fellowship Wraps Up
Over the past several years, through our work with therapists in a variety of communities, it became evident that there was an increased need for continuing education centered around children, youth, and families. We were also witnessing a high degree of burnout, sense of isolation and moral injury throughout the healthcare field. With these needs in mind we proposed a year-long Fellowship aimed at behavioral health clinicians/mental health therapists, as well as those still in their graduate training, that would serve as an opportunity to go in deep with fellow clinicians in the topic area of the mental health and well-being of children, youth, and the family system. Over the past two years, in 2022 and 2023, thanks to the Duke Endowment, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina and a partnership with Piedmont AHEC, we have been able to educate and nurture 86 behavioral health clinicians/mental health therapists and behavioral health graduate students through the Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health Fellowship.
These Fellowship experiences were structured in a way that re-oriented clinicians to foundational concepts of the socio-emotional aspects of child development rooted with an emphasis on the importance of relationship and attachment. Beginning in January of each year, the Fellows met monthly with faculty experts who presented material beginning with infancy through adolescence as well as special topics such as eating disorders, substance use, resilience, and working through teletherapy. While didactic information was critical to the experience, Fellows met a second time each month to enjoy a case presentation from a colleague. During these case presentations, Fellows were encouraged to use a relational and developmental lens, as well as whole person lens, and participants provided supportive feedback and suggestions for the presenting clinician. At the end of each year, we hosted a hybrid workshop where those Fellows who were able to join in person, could do so, however those who needed to be remote were also included through a hybrid format. We shared a meal, continued case discussion, and discussed the importance of provider well-being and support as they continued on their journey in this work upon their completion of the Fellowship that December.
In an effort to foster close connections and mentorships, recruitment was conducted in the fall and closed in December so that these Fellows worked with each other over the period of a full year. We are so grateful for the structure of these groups as this did indeed achieve the goal of connection for which we were hoping. Understanding and honoring the rates of burnout and exhaustion among our providers, the Fellowship provided a supportive and psychologically safe space for clinicians to talk about their struggles and their successes. Despite the virtual space being the main mode of communication, Fellows engaged fully with one another and when meeting in person for the final meeting, tears of gratitude were shed and hugs were shared. We gratefully share some of the quotes from our participants below:
“I appreciated this case presentation because it brought up matters that cause me anxiety when I think about supporting young clients and families: aggressive outbursts. I applaud the clinician because she is working so well with the family and has cultivated, it appears, a strong alliance.”
“I too felt connected to a new group across the state and learned A LOT from the peers and presenters.”
Additionally, Fellows experienced increased rates of feelings of competence when it came to areas of assessment, prevention, and intervention with all age groups. Even those Fellows who were more seasoned in their career indicated improvement in their feelings of competency. While we are not currently scheduled to host another Fellowship right now, we are pursuing funding to host a similar experience and we hope you will stay tuned for updates.
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the two cohorts of Fellows who joined us as well as the employers who supported them in this endeavor. We know time is precious and we have such great respect for the work being done to support our children, youth, and families. We will do our best to continue to advocate for systemic changes that support both our children, youth, and families as well as clinicians and providers.
