Recorded 2023 Invited Address #2 - Working Out The Irrigation System: Toward Better Access to Quality Mental Health Services (2023 CONVENTION RECORDING)

Michael A. Southam-Gerow, Ph.D. (he/him/his)

Professor
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia

Recorded on Saturday, November 18, 2023 at the 57th Annual ABCT Convention in Seattle, WA

1 CE Credit Awarded

$15 Student ABCT Members / $25 ABCT Members / $35 Non-Members

All prices listed in US currency

Abstract:

A key goal of implementation science (IS) is to increase access to quality mental health services. Despite many notable and important strides achieved, the mental health crisis has only worsened in recent years in the U.S. and many other countries around the world. To address the challenge, implementation science may benefit from refocusing its efforts in several different directions. This keynote will identify these multiple avenues for research, directions with potentially large returns on investment with regard to increasing access to quality mental health services. First, a focus on workforce development, recruitment, and retention, a major challenge for many states and localities, needs additional scholarly attention. Furthermore and relatedly, service financing, especially payment for evidence-based services, would benefit from increased scrutiny by implementation scientists. Last, service coordination systems, grossly underresourced, reliant on limited and out-of-date information, and operating in a mostly opaque manner to families who need services, warrant scientific inquiry. Potential paths to addressing these areas of concern are outlined and examples from ongoing work in Virginia will be highlighted. Last, future directions that implementation scientists could take will be identified.

Outline:

• Context of mental health crisis and efforts to address it
• Ecological model for implementation
• Addressing practitioner and provider organization factors
• Addressing systemic factors
• Examples from Virginia
• Future directions to consider

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, the learner will be able to:

1. Identify understudied areas of implementation science

2. Enumerate multiple ways that science could inform efforts to improve access to mental health services

3. Describe the relevance of community partnership building, as well as ways to partner

4. Long-term goals: Identify possible community partners for their research

5. Long-term goals: Meet with a prospective community partner

Recommended Readings:

1. Center for Evidence-based Partnerships in Virginia. (2021). Needs assessment and gaps analysis, 2021 report. Report prepared for the Division of Family Services of the Virginia Department of Social Services. Available online.   

2. Rodríguez, A., Southam-Gerow, M. A., O’Connor, M. K., & Allin, R. B. (2014). An analysis of stakeholder views on children’s mental health services. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 43, 862-876.   

3. Sale, R., Wu, J., Robinson, A., Finn, N., Aisenberg, G., Kaur, N., Riso, A., & Southam-Gerow, M. A. (2023). Workforce and other factors impeding implementation and sustainment of FFPSA evidence-based programs: A study of obstacles and opportunities. Report prepared for the Division of Family Services of the Virginia Department of Social Services. Available online

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All attendees will receive a certificate of completion when the course requirements are satisfied. Certificate of completion is included in the cost of the webinar

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For more information, contact:

Rachel Lamb, ABCT Membership and Marketing Manager
212-647-1890 ext. 209
rlamb@abct.org

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