Preparing Students in Human Service Professions for Interdisciplinary Practice.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for a single profession to respond adequately to clients who have multiple needs. Managed care and other changes in the provision of human services demand close interaction among professionals to facilitate services to clients and to avoid duplication of effort. While professional schools shape the thinking and practice of students to meet client needs, few models exist for training them to work collaboratively with members of other professions. This paper presents an evaluation of a training model that introduces graduate students from the professions of clinical psychology, education, physical therapy, and social work to interdisciplinary practice. Results indicate that, when compared with a control group, students who participated in the training model exhibited significant differences in learning on both knowledge and practice dimensions of interdisciplinary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]