Closing the knowledge to practice gap in mental health care - Implementation focused research

Despite advances in our knowledge of clinical psychology phenomena and practice, it still takes an average of 17 years for new research findings to be translated into clinical practice. The tightly controlled environment of the randomised controlled trial can differ enormously from the complex reality of clinical services, and real world insights regarding barriers and facilitators to change are needed to streamline the implementation of research findings in practice. Various opportunities are available to partner with clinical services to help leverage research findings to inform the development of novel interventions, to evaluate current practice from the perspectives of consumers and clinicians, and to study the implementation of new initiatives. Other opportunities exist for students to design projects to explore how therapist variables, client characteristics, organizational variables, and training interventions influence therapist behaviour and intentions to implement evidence-based practices. This project would be ideally suited to a trainee that seeks to embody the scientist-practitioner model in their future work, and who is keen to develop collaborative relationships with healthcare providers in diverse settings. Co-supervision arrangements will depend on the student's proposed project.