Building relationships in integrated care

Abstract

The USA is fast approaching a tipping point regarding behavioral health integration in primary care. With the unique confluence of changes to medical education, the movement by the medical community toward the patient-centered medical home, and a push by both governmental and international organizations for behavioral health integration (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2008; Evans, 2011; Institute of Medicine, 2001; World Health Organization, 2008), Medical Family Therapists (MedFTs) practicing in integrated care (IC) settings are reaping the benefits of the last 40 years of hard work by the progenitors of this care typology. This persistent push toward the inclusion of behavioral health professionals in healthcare settings has yielded increasingly sophisticated models and effectiveness research (e.g., AHRQ, 2008; Funderburk et al., 2010; Oakley, Moore, Burford, Fahrenwald, & Woodard, 2005; Phelps, Hodgson, Lamson, Swanson, & White, 2011; Robinson & Reiter, 2007; Strosahl, 2001, 2005; Unutzer et al., 2002; Valleley et al., 2007), as well as a burgeoning conversation regarding the academic and practice-based competencies required for IC practice (e.g., Blount & Miller, 2009; Gunn & Blount, 2009; Hunter & Goodie, 2010; O'Donohue, Cummings, & Cummings, 2009; Peek, Baird, & Coleman, 2009; Strosahl, 2005; Tyndall, Hodgson, Lamson, White, & Knight, 2012).