A major Connecticut pediatric practice is partnering with a nonprofit mental health provider to bring talk therapists directly into doctors’ offices — an effort to make behavioral health care easier to access amid rising demand for services and a shortage of providers.
With four locations in Fairfield County, Pediatric Healthcare Associates, or PHA, is one of the largest pediatric providers in the state, caring for roughly 34,000 children and young adults. For years, the group has been trying to streamline access to mental health services for its patients, many of whom struggle to find providers who are in-network and accepting clients, CEO Andrea Hagani said.
“Taking care of their mental health is really important. Just as important as their physical health. Sometimes more,” Hagani said. “We’ve been looking to embed our own mental health services in the practice for years and years and years.”
Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared that the country’s children were experiencing a mental health crisis. In Connecticut, nearly 1 in 2 teens will experience a mental health condition during their lifetime, according to a report from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.
But accessing care can be difficult. In Connecticut, roughly 40% of people live in areas with mental health workforce shortages, according to a report from the state’s Office of Health Strategy. Those shortages tend to be more acute for people covered under Medicaid, which is typically accepted by fewer providers.
PHA had tried hiring mental health providers directly, and also looked into partnering with hospitals to bring in specialists, but they had failed to find an arrangement that stuck.
Then, during a chance conversation at an event in June, Hagani was describing the challenge to Edith Boyle, CEO of LifeBridge Community Services, a Bridgeport nonprofit behavioral health organization.
Boyle suggested placing LifeBridge therapists in PHA’s offices. And thus, the partnership was born.
Within four months — thanks to some efficient work from the operational teams at both organizations — one LifeBridge therapist was stationed in PHA’s Stratford office. Today, there are two.
The plan is to expand the program next to PHA’s Fairfield location and then, eventually, to its offices in Trumbull and Shelton.
The arrangement allows PHA patients to avoid the cumbersome process of finding a therapist that both has availability and accepts their insurance. Plus, Hagani said, when PHA patients see a LifeBridge therapist, they know they’re meeting with a provider their pediatrician trusts.
Boyle, LifeBridge’s CEO, said the partnership is also about meeting families where they are, which allows them to address mental health issues before they escalate.
“By embedding behavioral health clinicians within pediatric practices, we meet families in a place of trust and familiarity. It’s about integration, prevention and early intervention, addressing concerns before they become a crisis,” Boyle said during a launch event for the partnership last month.
In the pilot’s first 30 days, LifeBridge received 70 referrals from PHA pediatricians. As of the end of October, therapists were already providing care to more than 20 kids, Boyle said.
The partnership makes a lot of sense for LifeBridge, as well. Typically, patients at outpatient behavioral health programs miss roughly a third of their appointments. But not a single PHA referral has missed an appointment with a LifeBridge clinician so far.
“My patients are thrilled,” Hagani said, particularly when they find out that LifeBridge accepts most forms of insurance, including Medicaid, known as HUSKY in Connecticut. Roughly a third of PHA patients and 77% of LifeBridge patients are covered through HUSKY.
Howard Sovronsky, the state’s inaugural Behavioral Health Advocate, said Connecticut should be proud to have one of the most robust systems of mental health care in the country. Still, he noted, access issues persist.
Partnerships like the one between PHA and LifeBridge are a step in the right direction towards more integrated care, Sovronsky said during a press conference last month.
Pediatricians are often the first resource families tap when their children face a mental health issue, but they are not often equipped to provide the full range of behavioral support patients may need, he added.
“It’s my hope and belief that this effort will serve as a model to encourage and inspire others to pursue these forms of collaborative care,” Sovronsky said.
Katy Golvala is a reporter for the Connecticut Mirror. Copyright 2025 @ CT Mirror (ctmirror.org).