TRICARE Provider Readiness Designation Training

TRICARE Provider Readiness Designation Trainings

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 required the development of a system where non-DoD (TRICARE) mental health care providers who meet eligibility criteria established by the Secretary of Defense, could receive a mental health Provider Readiness Designation. These providers would then be specifically highlighted in the TRICARE directory as having earned this designation.

As behavioral health providers who work with military service members, we hear the term ‘readiness’ often and may wonder what it means and how it could impact our work with our military clients. Generally speaking, readiness refers to the military’s capability to do its job, whether that’s during training, combat operations, or humanitarian missions. In order to ensure that the military can meet its missions, commanders need to know if their service members are able to deploy or work in an austere environment for an extended period of time. This blog series by Dr. Amanda McCabe, former Army psychologist, provides insights for civilian mental health providers on our role in readiness of our military clients.

To receive this designation, providers must demonstrate knowledge related to military culture and evidence-based treatments that have been approved by the Department of Defense for the treatment of mental health issues among members of the Armed Forces. This is demonstrated by completing the package of courses listed on this document which have been developed by the Center for Deployment Psychology and approved by the Government.

The six (6) courses are:

Assessing Military Clients for Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

This workshop will review a method for screening, assessing, and treatment outcome monitoring of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) centered on the use of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Participants will be introduced to VA/DOD best practices for diagnosing military-related PTSD including screening for trauma-related disorders, obtaining thorough military and trauma histories, conducting a semi-structured diagnostic interview, and using self-report measures to track treatment outcome. DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for PTSD as well as Other Unspecified Specified Trauma and/or Stressor-Related Disorders are reviewed. Tools for assessing PTSD and common comorbid conditions are discussed including appropriate use of the PCL-5, Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption Questions (AUDIT-C). Semi-structured clinical interviewing techniques are reviewed as they relate to screening, diagnostic assessment, and tracking treatment outcomes. Unique variables that can impact the assessment and feedback process with a military population are identified.

Ethical Considerations for Working with Military Members and Veterans

Civilian behavioral health providers working with military service members and veterans often face ethical challenges unique to this population. Ethical practice is contingent on effective application of personal and cultural morals, as well as on following professional regulations and expectations. Information about informed consent, boundaries of cultural and clinical competence, disposition-driven diagnoses, multiple relationships, and professional fitness are all presented in the context of work with military-connected clients. Decision-making models are included to address ethical dilemmas, with specific presentation of the role of dual relationships within a clinical framework.

Military Culture: Enhancing Clinical Competence

This training is designed for civilian behavioral health providers who want to develop a better understanding about military culture so they can more effectively engage with Service members in their clinical work. The training presents information about who comprises the armed forces as well as basics about organizational structure, branches of service, core values, military missions and operations, as well as the differences between the active and reserve components.

Addressing Suicide with Military-Connected Patients

This training provides a general overview of suicide prevention with military-connected clients. It begins with a comparison of suicide rates for military and civilian populations. Next, it explores myths about suicide and stigma within the military that can result from those myths. Finally, crisis intervention skills are addressed including a review of the steps for safety planning and lethal means safety counseling. The training ends with a review of suggested resources and next steps for additional learning.

An Overview of Sleep Disorders Common in Military Members

In this training participants will gain an understanding of common sleep disorders and sleep-related problems for military members. The presentation focuses on providing strategies to enhance the ability of mental health providers to assess, refer, and identify evidence-based treatments for the top two sleep disorders in military populations.

The Use of Screening Tools

This is an intermediate training that provides behavioral health providers with a general overview regarding the use of screening tools that are utilized with military populations. It starts with reviewing the benefits of utilizing screening tools and exploring limitations. Next, the training reviews specific screening tools for common mental health problems to review their rationale, interpretation, and how to apply those results to clinical decision making. The training includes multiple case examples to apply information about screening tools, as well as discussions on additional considerations such as liability concerns and data storage. This training focuses on utilizing empirically supported screening tools and how to incorporate those results into clinical decision making that have credible empirical support in the literature (i.e., Barry et al., 2023; Duffy et al., 2023; VA/DoD , 2023, 2024, 2025).

Agenda: 

Day 1

0900 START

Mil Cul 2.5 hrs

15 min break

Sleep D/O 1.25 hrs

LUNCH

1pm Eastern

Ethics (mixed) 3.5 hrs

1730 Eastern: END

Day 2

0900 Start

Screening 2hrs

PTSD Assessment pt 1 - 2 hours

LUNCH

PTSD Assessment pt 2 - 2 hours

1:00 PM Eastern

Suicide 1.25 hrs

1730 Eastern: END