Evaluation of a Veterans Health Administration Whole Health for Mental Health Course for Clinicians

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> Veterans experience mental health disorders at higher rates than their civilian counterparts and also experience multiple barriers to mental health services. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) has implemented a Whole Health approach to make health care more person-focused and oriented toward promotion of health-sustaining behavior. We conducted an evaluation to investigate the effects of a Whole Health for Mental Health (WHMH) course for clinicians that focuses on shifting the perspective to a system of care in which mental health is incorporated as a core part of whole-person care. <b><i>Design:</i></b> We collected surveys before the course, immediately after the course, and at a 2-month follow-up. <b><i>Settings/Location:</i></b> The course was implemented in non-clinical settings in two VA medical centers (one in the Northeast and one in the Mountain West). <b><i>Subjects:</i></b> Our sample consisted of VA staff who enrolled in WHMH and completed a pre- and post-survey (<i>n</i> = 100) and follow-up survey (<i>n</i> = 99). <b><i>Intervention:</i></b> The WHMH is a 2-day face-to-face course that covers multiple aspects of mental health through a Whole Health lens. The course includes evidence-based practices within each aspect of mental health. The course also emphasizes implementation of Whole Health in clinicians' lives, their practice, and the health care system. <b><i>Outcome measures:</i></b> Attitudes were measured at pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments. The WHMH behaviors were measured at pre- and follow-up assessments. <b><i>Results:</i></b> There were statistically significant, large changes toward improvement from pre-test to post-test for all attitudes examined. These changes remained significant at follow-up, and the magnitude of change remained at least medium to large. Statistically significant, medium magnitude or larger improvements were found at follow-up for four of the five WHMH behavior outcomes examined. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Our results suggest that clinicians can increase their attitudes and use of Whole Health concepts and both conventional and complementary approaches related to mental health issues.