Abstract
Integration of behavioral and physical health is becoming critical for the overburdened primary care system. Policy changes
are needed to accommodate integration nationally. Locally, medical and behavioral health providers are working together to
create models that better fit their patients’ comprehensive needs while respecting the clinical, operational, and financial
constraints of the current system. Family therapists trained to work in medical settings have an opportunity to emerge as
clinical, research, and administrative leaders in this context. However, a paradigm shift is crucial to adapting their systemic
orientation to interactions between individual patients, providers, staff, and healthcare and support systems. This article
provides family therapists with: (1) an overview of the basic structure and barriers of integration, (2) suggestions on how
to deliver quality care despite barriers at the local level, and (3) examples of key advocacy efforts representing possible
entryways on a larger scale.
are needed to accommodate integration nationally. Locally, medical and behavioral health providers are working together to
create models that better fit their patients’ comprehensive needs while respecting the clinical, operational, and financial
constraints of the current system. Family therapists trained to work in medical settings have an opportunity to emerge as
clinical, research, and administrative leaders in this context. However, a paradigm shift is crucial to adapting their systemic
orientation to interactions between individual patients, providers, staff, and healthcare and support systems. This article
provides family therapists with: (1) an overview of the basic structure and barriers of integration, (2) suggestions on how
to deliver quality care despite barriers at the local level, and (3) examples of key advocacy efforts representing possible
entryways on a larger scale.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-16
- DOI 10.1007/s10591-012-9189-3
- Authors
- Melissa A. Fox, East Carolina University, c/o Jennifer Hodgson, 108 Rivers Bldg., Greenville, NC 27858, USA
- Jennifer L. Hodgson, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
- Angela L. Lamson, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
- Journal Contemporary Family Therapy
- Online ISSN 1573-3335
- Print ISSN 0892-2764