Riverbend Community Mental Health is pleased to announce our integration with three primary-care physician offices in our area. Riverbend clinicians will be onsite, offering support and treatment for mental-health issues in collaboration with the primary-care physicians' treatment of physical health.
"While a primary-care physician can certainly prescribe medications for depression, for example, there is clear evidence that the most effective treatment is a combination of meds and psychotherapy," said Karl Boisvert, director of Acute Care Services at Riverbend. "Riverbend clinicians will work with individuals in therapy and monitor symptoms, medications, and side effects, and then connect with the physician to report progress and recommend changes in treatment."
Besides treating people with mental illness, Riverbend's clinicians will also be instrumental in helping people cope with other challenges. When people receive a medical diagnosis like cancer or diabetes, for instance, our clinicians can help them adjust, supporting them as they process this information and, as needed, change their lifestyle habits.
Riverbend's clinicians will support people who are struggling with a chronic health condition, perhaps with education about medication-free pain management, stress reduction and other healthy coping techniques.
In addition, our clinicians can help people with grieving and loss issues, whether they are coping with the death of a loved one, or coming to terms with a significant change in their health status.
"Many people still believe there is a stigma attached to having mental illness and, therefore, may be reluctant to seek help for behavioral health," Karl said. "They may be more likely to seek help while at their primary care physician's office."
"In addition to being non-stigmatizing, people may be more comfortable at their primary-care doctors' office, as opposed to a mental-health clinic," added Louis Josephson, CEO/President of Riverbend. "They will have instant access to the support they need, and their physician can easily communicate with their therapist during the course of treatment."
The staff of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic in Concord approached Riverbend and requested to have a mental-health clinician onsite at one of their physician practices, working in cooperation with their medical staff. Dartmouth-Hitchcock has offered space and program support, and Riverbend was enthusiastic about further development of the primary care and behavioral health collaborative effort.
Riverbend plans to have clinicians in two other physician practices: Internal Medicine and Concord Family Medicine, which are both affiliated with Concord Hospital. Riverbend will have a clinician at Internal Medicine in late September or early October and plans to have clinicians integrated with Concord Family Medicine when they relocate at the beginning of 2008.
Karl said the Riverbend staff is optimistic about this new integration, and he is confident that this collaborative approach will be an effective way to treat a variety of behavioral-health issues and improve access and health care outcomes. He hopes they can replicate this model and work with additional primary-care physicians' offices in the future.
