Training for the twenty-first century in a state psychiatric facility

This article analyzes some of the major factors affecting the content and process of training paraprofessionals in state-run psychiatric hospitals. It reflects on the challenge of providing the relevant knowledge and skills for staff members with limited or no clinical experience yet who are expected to provide the highest quality of care in a rapidly changing field. The author uses her own experience at the only state-run psychiatric hospital in Delaware to present ideas of how to create a learning environment for paraprofessionals that could be transferred to similar facilities.