Commentary on Integration of Primary Care and Behavioral Health Services in Midwestern Community Health Centers: A Mixed Methods Study

Comments on the original article by Staab et al. (see record 2022-14598-001) regarding the integration of primary care and behavioral health services in Midwestern community health centers. As a clinician, the author identifies with many of the findings in Staab et al.'s paper. Limited resources related to patient access were cited as a barrier to integration. In the academic medical center and the larger community, we have experienced too few behavioral health providers (BHPs) to meet the increasing demand for behavioral health (BH) services. There are long waitlists for BH care, and patients report difficulty accessing appropriate BH resources. A lack of funding within the health care system has been a barrier to hiring an adequate BH workforce to meet the demand of internal and external BH referrals. Integrated care requires a specific set of skills and training experiences to competently provide brief interventions and work as part of an interdisciplinary medical team in a fast-paced medical setting. The pool of qualified applicants for integrated care positions is limited, challenging recruitment efforts. Another factor reducing access within the integrated care setting is difficulty adhering to a short-term treatment model with patients who have severe mental health issues and long-term therapy needs, given their difficulty obtaining longer-term services. Unlike the majority of community health centers (CHCs) in this study, we have insufficient social work support to adequately meet all patients' care management needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).