5 minute read The behavioral health field is failing to fulfill one of its essential social roles. Our main function is to help people resolve behavioral health issues, but our longstanding inability to make care accessible diminishes our social value. This is an issue of equity. People should be able to access behavioral care as […]
Thinking Makes it Richer: Why the Pursuit of Deep Thought is Education’s Greatest Reward
3 minute read Having recently completed the coursework for a doctoral degree in behavioral health, I find myself reflecting on what that means, beyond any benefits to career advancement. Life is the greatest ocean of unknowns any of us will experience. We are thrust into it, unprepared except for the guidance of our parents, and […]
Integrating Social Medicine: Are We Ready to Evolve?
5 minute read Is the Healthcare System Ready? Our current integrated care models break down silos between physical and behavioral health, allowing for comprehensive screening, warm handoffs, care coordination, and streamlined referrals. Many patients, though, have unmet social, material, AND behavioral health needs. Here are some examples. • A 40-year-old man experiencing homelessness struggles to […]
Running Down a Dream: MFTs Step into the Medicare Spotlight
5 minute read The following post will include some slight navel gazing and somewhat excessive contemplation of one particular license group. I hope the reader will indulge me. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT). My doctoral training is in medical family therapy. I graduated from the same master’s program as my dad, […]
Helping a Husband Be More Than a “Pillar of Strength”
Original post available here. One day, while working as a clinical psychologist in a primary care practice, I was asked by the family doctor scheduled to meet that morning with Lisa, a 72-year-old woman with moderate dementia, to stop by and see her 75-year-old husband, Dennis, for counseling for possible depression. Within the hour, I […]
Should Integrated Care Be Organized Too? Reflections on Shortages, Burnout, and Unions
5 minute read A Provocative Question Recently, I attended a session on healthcare workforce development at the Arizona State of Reform conference in Phoenix. The State of Reform is a national organization that facilitates healthcare policy meetings across the country. This session focused on problems and opportunities related to healthcare workforce in Arizona. During the […]
“Your Costco Provider is Ready to See You”: When Mental Health Goes Retail
5 minute read Most people wouldn’t think of CVS, Kroger, Walgreens, Walmart or Costco as their primary care home. Even fewer would consider these retailers as their behavioral health provider location. However, each of these retail giants is reaching for larger portions of the health care marketplace to supplement their core business. Consumers, frustrated […]
2023 CFHA Conference Plenary Panel: A Discussion on Social Determinants of Health
7 minute read The panel discussion took place on Thursday 19 October 2023 at the CFHA Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The following questions were given by the moderator, Sentari Minor (EvolvedMD). Other panelists included Pedro Cons (CEO, Adelante Healthcare), Gabriel Jaramillo (Vitalyst Foundation), and Crystal Heiligenthal (Physician Assistant, HonorHealth). I am including only my […]
Living with Bipolar Disorder: Empowering Caregivers with Information and Professional Support
3 minute read Bipolar Disorder is as difficult for the patient as it is a challenge for their family. Just when you believe everything is going well, you encounter a “bump in the road” and you are off in a different direction. You as the caregiver must understand that these changes in behavior are biological […]
Redefining the Gun Debate: A Fresh Perspective on Safety and Mental Health
3 minute read In the ongoing gun debate, one side sees guns as tools for self-defense, while the other sees them as instruments of harm. Both perspectives hold truths, but as gun-related incidents continue to rise, this discussion has reached a fevered pitch. Increasingly, mental illness is proposed as the root cause of gun violence […]
Advancing Success in PCBH: A Framework for the Adoption of Measurement-Based Care
4 minute read In our first blog post on March 3rd, 2023, we reported on efforts by the Primary Care Behavioral Health Special Interest Group (PCBH SIG) to advance the understanding of screening and outcome measurement in demonstrating the value of the integrated model of service delivery. Since that time a Measurement-Based Care (MBC) workgroup […]
Unlocking Mental Health Access: The Power of Integrated Behavioral Health Care Response to Washington Post article
4 minute read When it comes to health insurance, we often forget about the importance of mental health coverage. But the reality is that accessing mental health services can be a daunting task. Limited coverage and difficulty reaching behavioral health care services can leave people feeling helpless and trapped in a cycle of poor mental […]
Living with and Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder
5 minute read Just when you think things are going well for you and your loved one, your partner enters a manic phase, and the rug is pulled out from underneath both of you; your worlds are upside down. An Unpredictable World As someone living with a significant other with bipolar, not only is it […]
Health Federation of Philadelphia Announces Historic Director Position: How Partnership and Persistence Paid Off
5 minute read On July 13, 2023, Health Federation of Philadelphia (HFP) announced a new investment in integrated care by the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS), which will allow HFP to hire a Director of Behavioral Health Integration position. The new Director will be responsible for leading all training and […]
Toward Mental Health Parity: Biden Administration Proposes New Rules
4 minute read Whole person care means that people have access to both physical and behavioral healthcare. Unfortunately, there is no parity for such treatments by payers here in the United States. Payers intentionally limit their coverage of behavioral healthcare. But now the Biden administration wants to see that change. Yesterday, the Biden administration proposed […]
The Proposed Updated Physician Fee Schedule 2024: A Positive Impact on Behavioral Health
Behavioral health services have become increasingly vital in healthcare, reflecting the growing demand for mental health care providers. To meet this need, significant policy changes and updates have been introduced to improve access to behavioral health services. In this blog post, we’ll explore the new proposed physician fee schedule for 2024 and its potential impact […]
How the Placebo Effect Can Improve Therapeutic Outcomes for Pain
Original post available here. The placebo effect, defined as symptom improvement following delivery of an inert substance, is often cast in a negative light, as a confounder during research and indication of malingering among certain patients. However, studies indicate just the opposite: placebo can improve symptoms of pain and discomfort, due to specific neurochemical responses […]
The Worker Shortage Crisis: Making Behavioral Healthcare an Attractive Career Option
3 minute read Last August I wrote about the long wait times for individuals in need of mental health services. Soon after that post, the American Psychological Association published survey results in November 2022 showing that 60% of psychologists cannot accept new patients, while 72% have longer wait lists than before the pandemic. A 2023 […]