Jennifer Callahan, PhD

Callahan is currently a professor of psychology within the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at University of Texas at Dallas.

Tell us a bit about your background: What is your area of research? What is your most recent journal-editing experience?

I am a professor of psychology within the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas. My editorial experience includes serving as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration and associate editor of Training and Education in Professional Psychology (TEPP).

My research program centers on the science of training and education in psychology, with the specific aim of enhancing mental health services for underserved populations. Data from the National Institute for Health Care Management paint a concerning picture of the current availability of mental health services. Almost half (49%) of the United States population resides in a mental health professional shortage area, with limited access to qualified mental health care. Access barriers are particularly endemic to rural and partially rural settings, where a staggering two thirds of residents are affected by mental health workforce shortages. The situation for psychology specifically is even more troubling. A significant portion of psychologists (around 60%) report having no capacity to accept new patients. The vast disparity between the need for mental health care and access to qualified professionals underscores the critical importance of a highly skilled psychology workforce. Every psychologist needs to be at the top of their game, equipped with the necessary knowledge, expertise, and clinical skills to deliver the most effective care. Simply put, there is no margin for error.

To help address these issues, my research program delves into the science of training and education in psychology, particularly its power to act as a systems-level intervention to improve mental health services for underserved communities. I am fascinated by the potential for a well-trained workforce to create cascading effects. One psychologist, for example, who treats 100 patients annually and has a 30-year career will treat 3,000 people over their career. The effects of their competence can snowball, with major consequences either way. Research careers and careers focused on institutional oversight may be harder to quantify but are no less significant. Investments in exceptional training and education can help to equip emerging psychologists with the skills they need to be maximally effective in the diverse professional roles expected of psychologists. Empowering every emerging psychologist with high levels of competence not only translates to improved service delivery and patient outcomes but also creates a positive ripple effect throughout the mental health care system. The idea of widening the reach of mental health care through training—with an exponential effect on underserved populations that may rely on very few psychologists—is an exciting imperative that drives my work.

Briefly, what are your main priorities? For example, how will you grow readership, what type of scholarship would you like to see in the journal, and what kind of content are you hoping to attract?

My primary objective is to position TEPP as the preeminent resource for all aspects of training and education in health service psychology. By publishing high-quality scholarship and empirically driven research, TEPP can serve as a guiding light for all training programs (from graduate to postdoctoral levels), all training models, and all accrediting bodies. To cultivate a vibrant exchange of ideas and prevent TEPP from becoming an echo chamber, I am encouraging researchers to submit work that explores international training practices. However, to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, I also encourage authors with international perspectives to work with coauthors who hold deep expertise and understanding of training and education in doctoral health service psychology within the United States and Canada.

I also encourage authors to use a broad range of research methodologies in submissions to TEPP. Carefully controlled single-subject experimental designs are underused, for example, but seem very well suited to training research. On the other end of the spectrum, I would like to see more secondary data analysis of very large and publicly available data sets to inform training and education. Finally, I want to encourage investigators conducting large, well-funded studies on psychopathology or treatment to consider including a component that gathers detailed information on training methods and their outcomes. This could encompass data on increased treatment fidelity, improved interrater reliability in clinician diagnosis, or other relevant training impact metrics. By submitting brief reports summarizing these findings to TEPP, researchers can contribute valuable insights for the training community while leveraging their existing studies.

Why is this journal important for the field? What is its relevance to society/public health? What are the hot issues in your area right now?

TEPP serves a critical function within the field of psychology. By disseminating research on effective training methods and best practices, TEPP directly affects the quality of care provided by psychologists. A well-trained psychology workforce translates to more effective interventions and improved mental health outcomes for the public. TEPP can elevate training standards by disseminating best practices, promoting innovation through the exploration of new training techniques, and fostering knowledge sharing among training professionals. Ultimately, by supporting the development of a competent psychology workforce, TEPP can contribute to the mental and emotional well-being of society as a whole.

The field of training and education in health service psychology is facing three major challenges. First, training programs need to embrace new technologies while preserving essential skills established through research and practice. Second, workforce shortages and oversaturation exist in different areas, requiring programs to train for the evolving workforce landscape. Third, limited budgets often hinder program development.

TEPP directly addresses these challenges by disseminating research that empowers training program administrators to navigate this complex environment. This includes promoting scholarship that examines cost-effective methods for technology integration within training curriculums. Furthermore, TEPP publishes research that can inform the alignment of competency development with the evolving needs of the workforce. TEPP also prioritizes research on best practices for supervision, especially in remote settings and with underserved populations. Given the demanding nature of training environments, the editorial team of TEPP welcomes scholarship centered on supporting trainee mental health and faculty well-being. Finally, acknowledging the importance of reliable and valid methods for measuring training effectiveness, the TEPP editorial team is committed to publishing advances in measurement, empowering programs to refine their approaches and ultimately deliver the best possible education for future psychologists.

Do you have plans for a special issue or changes to the editorial process? Have you introduced or are you planning to introduce any changes?

TEPP processes are refined and smoothly operating, owing to the excellent work of each of the prior editors since TEPP’s founding less than 20 years ago. My heartfelt thanks go out to Debi Bell, in particular, whose shoes will be hard to fill. Thanks to the hard work of my predecessors, I do not envision making significant changes to any of the manuscript-handling processes. I do hope to make a few changes to the readers’ experience of TEPP. In addition to adopting a new cover design, I intend to include an opportunity to earn continuing education credit in each issue. Mark Walport (former chief scientific advisor for the United Kingdom) is credited as having said, “Science is not finished until it’s communicated.” I would like to offer a friendly amendment to that sentiment and add the words “and read.” My hope is that offering continuing education might encourage more rapid uptake of the science of training.

Special issues allow TEPP to act as a catalyst for progress by curating scholarship in the science of training. I am currently working on a suite of ideas to roll out over time, with hopes that the resulting issues will facilitate a vertical advancement of knowledge in the science of training. It is my intention to take full advantage of the publisher’s resources to push the forthcoming special issue calls out widely in an effort to reach as many potential contributing authors as possible, even beyond the usual readership of TEPP.