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Kiana Malloy

Sarah Attaway

Intro to Psych Research Methods

May 7th, 2024

The Integrated Scientist-Practitioner: A New Model for Combining Research and Clinical

Practice in Fee-For-Service Settings

The research article offers a novel "clinical-research social business model" as a possible

solution to the long-standing challenge of merging scientific research with clinical practice in

psychology. Despite the intended scientist-practitioner training paradigm and APA standards that

emphasize research-practice integration, the authors contend that this ideal remains elusive for

the majority of psychologists working in applied settings. They identify several key contributors

to this disconnect, including reduced funding for psychosocial research, fewer tenure-track

academic positions, changes in healthcare reimbursement models, and the close relationship

between providing clinical services and monetary rewards in fee-for-service settings. These

trends create substantial challenges, but they also provide options for exploring alternate models

for conducting psychological research outside of traditional academia.

The methodology section describes the authors' motives and rationales for developing a

business to fund research activities outside of academia. This includes their training in the

scientist-practitioner model, concerns about declining external funding prospects, and a desire to

live in a specific geographic region. The authors then present a case study of the implementation

of their "clinical-research social business model" at the Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research,

and Training Center, which they co-founded (LeJeune 422). This model means using profits from
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income-generating clinical services and professional training activities to offer an internal,

consistent funding source to support staff research time and endeavors.

One strength of the methodology is the authors' ability to provide an in-depth, firsthand

account of developing and implementing this new business model over several years. The case

study helps readers comprehend the intricacies and practical considerations involved in

combining research and clinical practice in a fee-for-service system. The authors extensively

address numerous components, including their approach to clinical services, training programs,

research production, staff motivation support, and financial contingency management (LeJeune

424). However, as the authors recognize, being a single case study limits the applicability of their

technique to other circumstances. Furthermore, while defining the model's practical components,

the report does not include actual data or quantitative metrics to assess the model's efficacy or

outcome of research in comparison to other approaches.

Another methodological strength is the author's approach to creating a suitable

environment for research productivity. They describe leveraging principles such as autonomy,

mastery, and purpose to sustain employees' intrinsic motivation for carrying out research

(LeJeune 425). Furthermore, they carefully design salary contingencies to mitigate the

potentially negative impact of extrinsic monetary rewards on creative and collaborative research

work. This deliberate effort to manage motivating factors and foster a favorable research

environment is commendable. However, the authors provide a few details on how they

operationalized and measured the implementation of these principles, as well as data on their

effectiveness in sustaining staff productivity and motivation. Incorporating more precise

methodologies, metrics, or qualitative data on staff experiences related to motivation and the

research environment could have further reinforced this aspect of the methodology.
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Another significant aspect of the methodology is the authors' approach to overcoming

typical obstacles and challenges while conducting research outside of academia. They offer

practical solutions for problems such as accessing institutional review boards (IRBs), scientific

literature, research assistants, and promoting research collaborations (LeJeune 425). For

example, their proposal of establishing an independent, affordable IRB in collaboration with

other institutions is an innovative approach to overcoming this huge barrier (427). Furthermore,

their strategies for recruiting research assistants, accessing journal databases, and forming

collaborations with academics and non-academics show a thoughtful and viable approach to

establishing the infrastructure required for productive research. By directly addressing typical

obstacles, the authors propose a realistic and well-rounded methodological framework that could

inspire and educate other clinicians and practitioners looking to integrate research into their

professional settings.

Overall, the article presents an innovative and promising methodological approach to

facilitate the integration of research and practice in fee-for-service psychology settings using a

"clinical-research social business model." Despite the lack of empirical data, the case study

description and the authors' firsthand accounts provide useful insights into the practical

considerations, potential benefits, and limitations of implementing such a model. The author's

transparency on the obstacles and challenges they faced and how they overcame them offers an

informative and realistic view of those who might want to consider such endeavors.
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Work Cited

LeJeune, Jenna T., and Jason B. Luoma. "The Integrated Scientist-Practitioner: A New Model

for Combining Research and Clinical Practice in Fee-For-Service Settings." Professional

Psychology: Research and Practice, vol. 46, no. 6, 2015, pp. 421-428.

https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/pro-pro0000049.pdf