E01 – A Match Made in Heaven: Examining the Marriage between Medicine and Behavioral Health in Integrated Settings

Summary

Covid-19 and the accompanying isolation and social unrest has strained even the strongest of relationships, both those in the personal and intimate realm and those in the interprofessional team-based realm. The wave of mental health distress tops any covid infection curve and does not dissipate after a ten-day quarantine. The need for integrated behavioral health in primary care has never been greater, to meet patient needs and to alleviate the stress burden and burn out of health care team members. This presentation is given by a physician and a behavioral health clinician with 15 years of experience partnering to provide integrated behavioral health in primary care in a community health center, and who also happen to be married. The parallels between actual marriage and the figurative marriage between the behavioral health and medical worlds will be elucidated. There has been extensive literature on principles of strong unions, as well as more recent data on the tenants of strong interprofessional work. Using the metaphor of secure interpersonal relationships, we will explore what pieces apply to successful professional partnerships, explore some of the common pitfalls of relationships in integrated care, and practice communication tools geared towards working through conflict, embracing interdependence, and strengthening connection.