Essential competencies for psychologists in patient centered medical homes

Primary care has a medical culture and practice style that is unfamiliar to many psychologists who are generally accustomed to training and working in more traditional mental health settings. The development of Patient Centered Medical Homes is providing increased opportunities for psychologists to become employed in primary care settings. In primary care, psychologists' roles extend beyond direct patient care, and include contributions to primary care practice operations. In this article, we identify the essential competencies of psychologists who work in integrated primary care settings. The competencies identified are both foundational in nature and tied to various functional roles and responsibilities that psychologists have in primary care. We also describe the primary care ethic, which is a guiding philosophy or set of values that reflect an appreciation, openness, and willingness to engage as a psychologist in the interprofessional primary care environment.