Training Health Services Psychologists for Research Careers in Addiction Science

Addiction is a growing public health crisis, yet comparatively very few health services psychology programs include formal training in addiction science (Dimoff, Sayette, Norcross, 2017). Health services psychologists (i.e., psychologists who integrate psychological science and practice to understand development and functioning; APA, 2015) are well-suited to study and treat addiction, and doctoral level training is an ideal time to prepare future health services psychologists to do so. One possible barrier to incorporating addiction science training is the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to study and treat addiction and related health behaviors. We focus primarily on clinical science training and argue for a multi-faceted approach to doctoral training in addiction science that would prepare trainees for research careers. The proposed training model emphasizes the importance of mentorship, coursework, grant preparation, responsible conduct of research, prevention, intervention, and treatment, and invited speakers and conference attendance. Each of these components is discussed with an emphasis on addiction science. We offer suggestions for incorporating portions of this training model for programs with few addiction science related resources. We also discuss the importance of enhancing diversity and inclusion in addiction training and offer brief recommendations on this topic.