Learning to Fly: a journey into teaching and mentoring in IBH
In the midst of a world-wide pandemic, behavioral health needs have grown to epidemic proportions among many who have no history of mental illness, as well as those who have long experienced mental illness. In an analogy that many have used, it often feels like learning to fly while already in the air. From this perspective, I feel compelled, as a health psychologist trained in integrated care, to consider how mental health clinicians may find innovative ways to use their skills in assisting systems of care that need our guidance most.
The pandemic takes a toll on providers, caregivers, and clinicians who care for those afflicted. CICP faculty member Dr. Paula Gardiner shares a ten-minute meditation practice that anyone can do to provide some self-compassion. More>
Late this spring the CIPC faculty read with interest a special issue of Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medicals Settings on “The Primary Care Behavioral Health Model of Integration”. One particular article caught the attention of CIPC Director, Daniel Mullin. The author, Adrienne A. Williams, PhD discussed in “The Next Step in Integrated Care: Universal Primary Mental Health Providers” the binary view of mental health, either a patient is mentally healthy or is mentally ill. The author cites examples of how this view reinforces stigma associated with seeking mental health services, even within current integrated care models.
Williams suggests as a solution, a primary mental health provider, “In contrast to the binary view, where some people are seen as needing an MHP and others do not, this model would be similar to the primary care model of health and would involve development of primary mental health providers (PMHPs). These PMHPs would be to mental health care what primary care physicians (PCPs) are to physical health care.”
Until now, there has been no list of essential skills for medical residents who are learning about integrated care. Recently the journal Family Medicine published Essential Skills for Family Medicine Residents Practicing Integrated Behavioral Health: A Delphi Study. Lead author, Matt Martin, Ph.D., LMFT has been a colleague of CIPC faculty and generously agreed to be interviewed for this post. CIPC faculty member Amber Hewitt Cahill is also part of the distinguished team that authored this study.
Our founding director, Dr. Alexander Blount, guest blogs about his new book, "Patient-Centered Primary Care: Getting From Good to Great".
Sandy's 1998 volume "Integrated Primary Care: The Future of Medical and Mental Health Collaboration" is one of the foundational texts of the movement to acknowledge the importance of mental health to our physical well-being and to integrate behavioral health care into primary care. Click on the post title to read his blog post explaining how the new volume is the next chapter for IBH.
Two more patients of mine died this past weekend. Two more on top of two more on top of two more. I have lost more patients in the last three years from opioid deaths than I have lost patients from all causes during my entire career.
Might common and widespread practices surrounding Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) actually be harming patients? Steve Martin, MD, EdM, is lead author on a paper recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that examines the evidence. The findings in the article will form the backbone of a course that will be given to all Massachusetts medical school students. UMass CIPC is leading the team that will build this critical training.
Tina Runyan often posts on this blog about wellness and clinician burnout. This post was prompted by the shootings in the Pittsburgh synagogue. Read her comments about the concept and reality of sanctuary by clicking on the post title.
New CIPC faculty member, Dr. Paula Gardinar is an advocate of Integrative Medical Group Visits (IMGV).
Seeing patients and families as a group is not new to behavioral health professionals, but it is a more novel approach when the issue being addressed is medical rather than behavioral or a combination of both.
Stress is universal and a part of our everyday lives. Is all stress harmful? Can we learn to accommodate stress and make more skillful choices about how we respond to this inevitable part of our lives?
Read what Dr. Runyan wrote to our family medicine residents by clicking on the title.
The opioid epidemic inflicts significant human and economic damage in the United States. A July article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Drs. Sarah Wakeman and Michael Barnett provides a helpful summary of the myths and realities associated with buprenorphine (Suboxone) and the opioid epidemic.
The UMass Center for Integrated Primary Care continues to play an active role in training primary care teams to respond to the needs of patients with Opioid Use Disorder.
We all know this word – the property of not lasting or enduring for an indefinite period of time. But what does that really mean with regards to mindfulness and our experiences?
In the second part of this two-part post, Motivational Interviewing teacher and coach, Ali Hall reflects on how to listen more deeply to those who are struggling to change their behaviors.
There is an internationally recognized tool for measuring the effectiveness of a clinical encounter using Motivational Interviewing and it is called the MITI (Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity). In this post, Ali Hall, who acts as MI coach in our MI Certificate course reflects on one of the first times she used the MITI--on a patient conversation she herself had with a chronic smoker.
What you think might be fostering connections to others may actually be amplifying your own critical voice or taking you out of the present moment, hijacking your attention away from your physical company.
