Presenters
- Kelli Bosak, LCSW, Behavioral Health Consultant, North Bend Medical Center
- Yajaira Johnson-Esparza, PhD, Assistant Professor/Clinical, UT Health San Antonio
- Hayley Beth Van Serke, MSW, PsyD, Manager Behavioral Health Consulting, Howard Brown Health
- Rosemary Hale, MA, Clinical Psychology Pre-Doctoral Intern, Aspire Indiana Health
- Nathalie Garza, MA, Doctoral Candidate in Counseling Psychology, Our Lady of the Lake University
- Tanya Vishnevsky, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and CEO, Natick Counseling
Summary
The pandemics of racism and COVID-19 continue to disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and to further reinforce existing health inequities, so much so that the term syndemic more adequately captures the lived experience of BIPOC. Inherent to Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) is a deep commitment to realizing health equity. Rooted in our shared humanity as clinicians and researchers, there lies a passion akin to a community organizer and social justice activist. BHCs are often frontline healthcare advocates and educators as champions of the PCBH model. Interrogation, activating change, systems-level thinking, complexity, and community are at the core of Integrated Care for any Behavioral Health Consultant. In this workshop, participants will engage with the PCBH Special Interest Group (SIG) to understand certain guiding principles of activism and advocacy used in health-related professions today. To set the context, presenters will first provide a brief overview of health inequities affecting BIPOC communities, as well as examples of existing efforts at addressing these inequities at the individual and system levels. Presenters will use an ecological framework to engage participants in discussion and self-reflection exercises to promote awareness of their own role in activism and to identify strategies they can apply in their various roles and clinical settings. To this end, presenters will engage participants in discussion about the unique challenges and opportunities that exist within PCBH with the goal of improving the lives of BIPOC communities we serve. This workshop intends to inspire BHCs to take action within and beyond individual therapeutic relationships and advocate for structural changes at different system levels that directly impact their communities.
Objectives
- Understand shared principles of movements to organize for justice and health equity
- Identify challenges and opportunities that exist within PCBH that impact the ability to change fundamental social problems.
- Identify ways BHCs can advocate for structural changes in their practices, teams, and clinics that center the communities they serve.
