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A decade after the establishment of the certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) model, more than 60 percent of the US population has access to such facilities and the mental health and substance use disorder treatment services they provide, according to a new study led by researchers at the NYU School of Global Public Health. Moreover, these clinics are expanding the availability of crisis mental health services, including mobile crisis response teams and stabilization.

CCBHCs fulfill federal criteria related to providing outpatient mental health and substance use care, including crisis services, regardless of patients’ ability to pay. The federal government established the criteria for the CCBHC model in 2014, and the first CCBHCs opened in October 2016. Clinics that become CCBHCs are typically community mental health centers that offered outpatient behavioral health care before becoming CCBHCs, but other types of facilities—like hospitals and federally qualified health centers—are also receiving CCBHC designation.

In a study published October 4 in JAMA Health Forum, the researchers found that CCBHCs have a wide-reaching network, with the proportion of US counties and people residing within a CCBHC service area substantially growing since the first clinics opened in 2016.

As of June 2024, 39.43 percent of counties are served by CCBHCs (22.85 percent of counties served by Medicaid CCBHCs and 25.37 percent of counties served by SAMHSA-funded Expansion CCBHCs, with some served by both). More than half of CCBHCs serve multiple counties. In addition, the majority of the US population—62.26 percent—have access to mental health care through local CCBHCs (26.63 percent by Medicaid CCBHCs and 53.93 percent by Expansion CCBHCs, with some served by both).

CCBHCs are required to provide the three main types of behavioral health crisis care: 24/7 call lines, mobile crisis response, and crisis stabilization. The need for crisis services has grown since the 2022 launch of 988, the new national number for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The research found that clinics receiving CCBHC Medicaid bundled payments had much higher odds of adding new crisis services when becoming CCBHCs than clinics not receiving these Medicaid payments.

The researchers also found that CCBHCs with higher staffing levels relative to the population they serve were more likely to directly provide crisis services, rather than contracting with third-party providers.

Read more at NYU.edu.

There is an inextricable and well-documented connection between physical health and behavioral health. Behaviors such as smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, eating low-nutrition foods, lack of exercise, and insufficient sleep can greatly affect an individual’s physical health.

Conversely, poor health can contribute to depression, substance abuse, and inactivity, perpetuating a vicious cycle that can ruin lives and contribute to healthcare costs. The impact of social determinants of health (SDoH), including lack of transportation or housing, unemployment, and discrimination, can exacerbate both physical and mental health problems.

These issues are particularly prevalent among underserved populations, such as rural Americans, for whom behavioral health support and services either are inaccessible or not integrated with their primary care. As the National Institute for Health notes, though, “the prevalence of serious mental illness and most psychiatric disorders is similar between U.S. adults living in rural and urban areas; adults residing in rural geographic locations receive mental health treatment less frequently and often with providers with less specialized training, when compared to those residing in metropolitan locations.”

While primary care providers long have been aware of these challenges and inequities, far too often they are unable to do anything about them due to a lack of resources. To encourage tighter integration of behavioral health into primary care for these populations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has created a primary care reimbursement model to enable a more equitable, innovative, and team-based approach.

For some healthcare organizations, particularly low-revenue providers in rural areas, integrating primary and behavioral care remains a formidable challenge. Among the most common obstacles are lack of funding or resources to fully integrate the two types of care and a shortage of qualified behavioral health professionals in the service area.

Read more at MedCityNews.com.

Executives from the California Board of Parole Hearings visited San Quentin Rehabilitation Center recently to talk about the importance of mental wellness.

Board of Parole Hearings executive officer Jennifer Shaffer spoke to a crowd of potential parolees in the chapel as part of a week of events in September put on by San Quentin’s mental health department during Suicide Prevention Week.

“For those of you who were in prison 20 years ago, I’m sorry,” Shaffer said. “You all were here during the really dark days and I’m not proud of what the board did during those days. You felt you had no hope, but that was our culture at the time.”

Shaffer told the crowd that her job since she took over at her position in 2011 has been to professionalize the board and make it the best it can be.

“Today, one out of every three people are granted parole during their initial parole hearings,” she said.

“Prisoners don’t get denied parole dates because they have a mental health problem, they’re denied because they don’t seek help,” she said. “Seeking help in prison is a good indicator you’ll seek it in the community.”

But the reality is that help in the form of mental health therapy is a difficult thing to receive in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

According to a report by the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit that does research on issues that affect people who are incarcerated, almost 400,000 people in state and federal prison have chronic mental health problems. More than 41% of people experiencing severe psychological distress in state and federal prison have not received any mental health treatment for more than a year or longer.

California prisons are under a federal receivership due to failed medical and mental health services.

This failure to treat is consistent with PPI’s report that said, “More than one third (34%) of people who had been taking prescription medication for a mental health condition at the time of their offense had not received their medication since entering the prison system.”

According to a survey done by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics on state and federal prison populations, not only are mental health conditions common in jails and prisons, but more people are facing chronic mental health conditions in particular; the proportion of people in prison with chronic mental health conditions nearly doubled from 2004 to 2016 (14% to 27%).

Read more at LocalNewsMatters.org.

Black mental health professionals are critical in addressing challenges related to mental and behavioral health care in African American communities, including accessibility, relatability, cultural competency and more. However, while they are treasured resources, studies show African American mental health care professionals face particular challenges related to burnout.

While Black mental health professionals are critical, recent data shows they are significantly more likely to experience burnout than other helping professions, putting both an underrepresented group of practitioners and the people they serve at risk.

A National survey conducted by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, found a concurrence of feedback from mental health practitioners concerned that they may not be able to meet increasing demands for mental health or substance use treatment and care without the help of much needed public policy changes.

Among 750 behavioral health workers and over 2,000 adults across the U.S., “nearly two in three (65%) reported increased client caseload, and more than seven in 10 (72%) reported increased client severity since the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The mental health workforce is predominantly White and female, and there is a lack of representation of clinicians of color, especially Black male clinicians. This lack of diversity can make it difficult for Black Americans to find a practitioner they feel comfortable sharing race-related trauma with.

Read more at WashingtonInformer.com.

New York City’s clubhouses — member-run facilities that offer support to those with serious mental health conditions — are proving that recovery and rehabilitation are possible, with some lawmakers like Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., hoping to expand the availability and access to these institutions for more residents.

Fountain House, which touts itself as the pioneer of the modern clubhouse model, aims to put an end to the “punitive, ineffective and costly” approaches to those with mental illness, who cycle through jails, emergency rooms, shelters and the streets without proper care or support to lead healthy and happy lives, the organization said.

The goal is to give members a sense of stability and community. At the clubhouses, they get a helping hand to obtain an education, find work, achieve health goals while readily having access to clinical care, housing assistance and other supportive services.

“What we are looking to do is to help people truly recover, and so that means help them return to jobs, be neighbors, and live out in the community and to have meaningful relationships,” Ian Campbell, Fountain House’s Senior Director of Employment and Learning, told ABC News.

What makes the clubhouse model so successful, Campbell said, is that they fill gaps not filled in a clinical setting. They support members with both economic barriers as well as the loneliness or isolation that patients are likely to also be experiencing.

About 15% of people with severe mental illness successfully return to work, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness — but at Fountain House, 25 to 30% of their active membership has returned to work.

A New York University study on Fountain House found that its services save Medicaid costs by up to 21% by reducing hospitalizations and ER visits as well as increasing primary care visits, increased outpatient mental health visits, and increased pharmacy visits – “essentially a better adherence to other forms of treatment that can further support members’ recovery,” Fountain House said in a statement.

Read more at ABCNews.Go.com.

Maternal mental health conditions are among the most prevalent complications during pregnancy and the postpartum period. There is also a significant economic burden associated with maternal mental health, costing $14 billion annually.

However, there are efforts to improve care for mothers struggling with maternal mental health challenges, including the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP) for Moms. It helps providers address mental health issues of pregnant and postpartum patients. The program was discussed last week during a panel at the Behavioral Health Tech conference in Phoenix, in which experts shared how they successfully expanded the program across the country.

MCPAP for Moms was founded in 2014 by Nancy Byatt, a tenured professor at UMass Chan Medical School. On the panel, Byatt shared that she knows first hand the need for better maternal mental health support.

Because of this experience, Byatt went on to become a perinatal psychiatrist. Her patients often shared that they didn’t realize they were depressed until much later. Additionally, many had seen multiple healthcare professionals who never asked about their mental health or discussed depression with them.

According to Byatt, MCPAP for Moms has three core components. It provides training for obstetricians on how to talk about maternal mental health, screen for it and address it. For those who screen positive for maternal mental health conditions, MCPAP for Moms can offer consultation. Lastly, the program gives resources and referrals to help patients navigate the healthcare system. In total, the program costs $14 per woman per year, Byatt added.

Read more at MedCityNews.com.