Patrick Raue is a professor in the UW Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. He is Associate Director for Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions at the AIMS Center, and Director of the National Network of PST Clinicians, Trainers & Researchers. In these roles, he develops and leads implementation and training programs in a variety of behavioral health interventions. Dr. Raue’s clinical expertise includes the identification and management of mental health conditions in medical settings including primary care and home health care. Dr. Raue conducts NIMH-supported research on patient preferences and shared decision-making approaches for depression; the effectiveness of psychotherapy among older adults; and suicidal ideation.
What do you find most satisfying about working on the Integrated Care Training Program (ICTP)?
One of the most satisfying aspects of my involvement with the ICTP project is the opportunity to work with clinicians who are learning to use behavioral interventions like Problem Solving Treatment for depression. It’s been very rewarding to see how clinicians have expanded their skills and have helped so many of their patients improve using these brief approaches.
What are your goals for ICTP?
My goals for ICTP are to develop new curriculum for training clinicians in other behavioral interventions, and to develop methods for the fellows to train and supervise their own care managers.
What is your greatest achievement?
I’m pleased to have conducted a series of research projects that have highlighted the importance of understanding and eliciting patient preferences as the basis for engaging patients in mental health treatment. For example, I found that meeting patients’ preferences for specific treatment modalities is associated with treatment initiation and ongoing adherence. And I have developed a brief shared decision-making intervention to increase participation of depressed patients in decisions about their mental health care.
What led you to where you are today professionally?
I spent 18 years on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College prior to joining the team at UW School of Medicine in 2017. I first became interested in integrated care through the NIMH-supported Prevention of Suicide in the Elderly (PROSPECT) study, where I served as Director of the Assessment Core and supervisor of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) as provided by care managers. I have also collaborated on developing and testing the impact of care management interventions in home health care. Since joining the faculty at UW, I serve as Associate Director for Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions at the AIMS Center. In this role, I build and oversee training programs for a variety of behavioral interventions.
Describe your perfect day outside of work.
My perfect day would start by doing something active outside with friends, like volleyball, hiking or biking. Follow this by jumping in the ocean. And at night, seeing a band perform live, either indie, rock or folk music.
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
My favorite teacher was a supervisor I had in my clinical psychology doctoral program. I videotaped my psychotherapy sessions and shared them during group supervision, always an anxiety-producing experience! In one of my sessions with a depressed patient, my supervisor made a comment that he couldn’t tell who the depressed person was. While quite humbling at the time, it taught me a few things. The experience made me reflect that expressing empathy is a crucial part of the psychotherapeutic process, but that I apparently “overdid” it by mirroring some depressive non-verbal behaviors. I learned that patients benefit from a more optimistic, energetic approach in assisting them to combat their depression. And most of all, the experience challenged me to be open to constructive feedback to improve my skills as a clinician.