The Behavioral Health Continuum of Care | Cummings Graduate Institute
I think people get really exhausted in this work um because of the nature of what it is um and so I think you know that can definitely impact outcomes if you don’t have a healthy Workforce and and people who absolutely know how to manage and mitigate their burnout our special guest for today is Trina ITA Deputy executive Commissioner of Behavioral Health Services at Texas Health and Human Services welcome Trina good morning good morning good morning great thank you for taking uh time out of your busy schedule to participate in this podcast um and we’re going to go ahead and get started here um Define what Behavior Health Continuum of Care entails including prevention intervention treatment and Recovery Services so when I think about the behavioral health continuum I think about Behavioral Health Services across the lifespan the type of services that that happen um through those different iterations in those developmental stages and so you know when I think about prevention I think about prevention from the perspective of all the activities and services and supports that might happen for someone okay before they even get to a space where they’re they may be interfacing with um more intensive Services um so Prevention Services can look like like building Community resiliency um making sure people have access to things like housing and food and um transportation kind of daily life Essentials um because if people have those very fundamental things I think it improves their trajectory overall um I think about families and children in particular you know having a a solid secure family and and having that child have all the resources and supports they need for daily living um I think as part of that prevention work um and making sure those things exist in communities to support you know Youth and families okay okay if you can highlight the importance of addressing mental health needs across different age groups and specialized groups it’s so critical addressing mental health needs um particularly before people get into crisis right it’s it’s so important to identify as early as possible um and that’s where I think the dbh program is so on point um in terms of looking at an integrated care model where if somebody’s coming in with a primary complaint of physical health and then you’re identifying if there’s a clinician on site identifying that there are some other factors on a be on the behavioral health side then they can intervene a little bit earlier with those types of services so that an individual doesn’t go into crisis absolutely absolutely and um I I can definitely see that emphasis in the dbh program as well um our next question can you discuss how the current behavior health system faces challenges such as a fragmented care lack of access and stigma sure I think access has always been a challenge and I think stigma does dovetail into that if people are unwilling to seek help because of the stigma associated with um mental health or substance use issues um then they’re they’re not going to penetrate the system they’re not going to go seeking um and so that’s how stigma I think ties to lack of access and then I think about Workforce challenges um where you know we don’t have as many professionals going into this work because it’s it’s Challen ing work dealing with absolutely human human issues and and challenges and traumas that people have um it can take its toll on practitioners and so um you know it’s it’s all of those pieces and then you think about funding you know and funding for these types of services and supports um there’s not parity between say physical health care and Behavioral Health Care in terms of how the investment of resources um and I think that does stigmatized to that right um in terms of of the amount of resources that that have been invested in Behavioral Health comparatively to physical health care okay explore how these challenges affect the ability to deliver value based care focusing on outcomes cost Effectiveness and patient satisfaction so I mean if you have a you know I guess I’ll go back to the workforce piece if you have a Workforce the workforce that he is here MH um you know they’re tired you know I think people get really exhausted in this work um because of the nature of what it is um and so I think you know that can definitely impact outcomes if you don’t have a healthy Workforce and and people who absolutely know how to manage and mitigate their burnout that is going to affect the client outcome because you can’t be fully present in the experience with a client if you are just if you have your guard up if you’re not fully engaged in the process because you’re so exhausted from from from the work itself right so I think that definitely impacts um outcomes and then you know in terms of of of cost Effectiveness I think you know it’s important to focus on things that have evidence you know things that that demonstrate that you can get outcomes using particular interventions um and that that to me Taps into the cost effective piece because if you’re if you’re providing quality services um whether that are evidence informed or evidence-based um then you’re going to get the better outcomes with the goal of moving hopefully people off of services or out of your care now they may have to come back for the occasional tuneup right I know we talk about that in the dbh program people having to come back periodically which is okay right because there are those things that happen in life um where you might have have to come back um you know and just process some things but yeah I think evidence informed evidence-based um to ensure cost Effectiveness um which also if it’s evidence informed and evidence based it’s going to focus on those outcomes and that’s where you get the value right right in in the services that you’re delivering explain how the concept of integrated Healthcare where physical and Mental Health Services are coordinated and delivered collaboratively so that in a nutshell is how I P perceived the dbh program right um is is the focus on integrating the physical health care with the behavioral health aspects um which are inclusive of mental health and substance services so to me the concept of integrated care is it’s holistic care it’s where you you see the the individual and you focus on their Whole Health not just the physical aspect but the mental health and or substance issues that might be presenting along with those those physical health care conditions where there’s a collaborative partnership amongst all the practitioners that are serving the needs of that individual so between the physician um you know and the and the clinician that’s providing the therapeutic services that they’re in constant communication um and partnership around what are the best interventions and supports that are needed for the individual to both address their physical needs and their behavioral health needs okay so can can you illustrate the potential benefits of integrated care such as improve health outcomes better care coordination and reduce health care costs so when I think about the potential benefits of integrated care such as improved Health outcomes so I’ll I’ll talk about it based on my experience and I typically work with populations that are uninsured or underinsured um and so those those folks H tend to have challenges obviously socio economic challenges right um that sometimes might impair their ability to access care um and it can it can go down to something as granular as transportation and the inability to manage a multitude of appointments with different practitioners so on an integrated care model where you have um kind of this collocation um of all the disciplines serving that individual um you know it helps mitigate the individuals um you know I guess Financial Risk in terms of trying to have the resources to get to multiple appointments in different locations but also too with their treatment adherence if they think there’s going to be a level of convenience coming to one location for those Services of supports that they need then they’re more inclined to participate in services and then I will um talk about it from a population Health perspective then to me if you if you have that kind of as the as the framework then more broadly if people are actively engaged in treatment and services then you’re going to get better health health health outcomes and you’re going to have healthier a healthier population when speaking to the role of dig Behavior Health Solutions including tele medicine mobile apps and online therapy platforms can you discuss how these tools can help overcome barriers to access increase convenience and provide personalized support absolutely the Advent of tele medicine and tella health I think right now in this point in history for per for providers and clinicians is is critical um we have again as I said the workforce shortage um and so keeping that in mind the the convenience for both practitioner and the individual receiving services and supports um you know has has been really as I as I noted instrumental in continuing care for some folks particularly when we went through the pandemic I think that is where we really saw an explosion of the use of those telea health and tele medicine platforms there was some utilization prior but I think that you know with something like a pandemic having that um at our fingertips was a such a great tool um to yes to make sure people had access to care and now in the in the busyness of what our lives are right I think people are just so busy um have having having um something like tella health and tele medicine um available to them is is is key so that you fit therapy into your busy lives cuz sometimes we put things off like we we put our own self-care off and so having access to something like Behavioral Health um through tele medicine and telea Health Options um is is key for convenience and for I think adherence and for self-care so so yes te tella health and tele medicine and those digital platforms now they have apps where you can just kind of do doctor on demand Services um you know and things of that nature that really meet people where they are in the busyness of their lives and that is something that is really critical um I think even for professionals like us right you know us as practitioners sometimes we need to engage in these processes absolutely and you know it’s we’re so busy sometimes yes um being the caregiver that we forget to care for ourselves so having something a tool like a digital platform or tella health or tele medicine as an option can can be very key for us too yes and we need it we absolutely unequivocally need it okay can you explain um why organizations and individuals should support initi pretty much promote and support integrated care and the dbh I think it should be promoted and support it for all the reasons that we’ve talked about today I mean it’s cost effective it’s person centered um it it creates ease and convenience that is a uh benefit um you know to managing our busy lives um and then it is again I’ll go back to kind of from a population Health perspective if there’s more Integrated Health happening where people can go to um you know I’ll I’ll use the the not it’s not a equalism but kind of the One-Stop shop concept right where people can go to a location and get their health care needs met um you know I think you’re just going to get better outcomes um in the long term so I think it’s important I think integrated care is important um for for both the individual receiving the services and for the practitioners delivering the services absolutely Trina thank you for taking a time out for us today um and answering these questions um to our audience and we look forward to seeing all the amazing work in your new leadership role uh in the state of Texas and uh we’re definitely extremely um just excited and know that you’re going to do an outstanding uh job and make a huge impact in your state thank you so much well I’m excited to be here here and I’m always excited to talk about Behavioral Health whenever I can and I’m excited about the dbh program and what that means for the work that I do here in Texas so thank you so much thank you thank you and to our audience thank you for joining us today please like share and subscribe to our podcast thank you for coming and we will see you at our next podcast [Music]
Dr. U. Grant Baldwin, DBH, Director of the Doctor of Behavioral Health program at Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies, explores the behavioral health continuum of care, which entails prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services. This episode discusses how the current behavioral health system faces challenges such as fragmented care, lack of access, and stigma. Additionally, presents considerations for how digital behavioral health solutions, including telemedicine, mobile apps, and online therapy platforms can mitigate these challenges.
Special Guest: Trina K. Ita, MA, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) & holds a Bachelor’s in psychology from Tuskegee University and Master’s in Counselor Education – Community/Agency Counseling from Kean University. She has worked in behavioral health for over 30 years holding a variety of leadership roles in the private & public sectors to include provision of services in private practice. She formerly worked in the child welfare system in Texas as Chief Strategist for Behavioral Health Services for Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and is now serving as the Deputy Executive Commissioner of Behavioral Health Services for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). In this role she has the responsibility for the behavioral health continuum of care for adults and youth and the array of service offerings funded by the Texas Legislature (i.e. prevention, intervention, treatment, substance use, veterans behavioral health, disaster behavioral health, etc.) as well as responsibility and oversight on the administration of the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) and the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant (SUPTRS BG or SUBG).
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Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies is a nonprofit, DEAC accredited, online post-graduate institution of higher learning offering post-graduate education and training in the field of integrated behavioral healthcare, including the Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) degree program.
CGI is focused on meeting the healthcare industry’s need for a highly-skilled workforce to support an integrated approach to addressing patients’ needs.
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To learn more about Cummings Graduate Institute visit: https://cgi.edu/