The Mental Health Bridge Program-A Mental Health Program Integrated With Primary Care
Conference held at Belmont Center for Comprehensive Treatment on October 6, 2004
New Directions in Geriatric Behavioral Health: Serving Older Persons of Different Cultures The Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania
The Charles B. Wang Community Center (CBWCHC), formerly known as Chinatown Health Clinic, has had a longstanding relationship with the Chinese community in metropolitan New York since its establishment in 1971 through providing bilingual and bicultural health care. The Bridge Program was established in 1998 as an innovation to address the disparities between mental health needs and services of the local Chinese community. The premises of Bridge Program are to connect appropriate mental health services for patients with identified needs, empower physicians and other service providers and destigmatize the misconception of mental health rooted in the community. The Program has three distinct arms:
- Clinical services
- Provider education
- Public education and outreach
Clinical services. On-site mental health clinicians including psychiatrist and psychiatric social workers receive referrals from the primary care physicians of the health center and provide timely consultations, mental health evaluation and treatment in the primary care setting. By providing mental health services in the primary care setting, this integrated care model decreases the mental health taboo, addresses the somatization issue, breaches the gap between primary and specialized care and increases the patient's access to the mental health system.
Provider education. In order to enhance the capacity of primary care providers as well as other providers from social service agencies to ensure early detection of patients with psychiatric disorders, ongoing trainings are organized to improve the skills and knowledge base of the providers in the identification and treatment of mental health disorders commonly seen in primary or their work settings.
Public education and outreach. In order to raise the awareness of mental health issues and destigmatize the stereotype of mental health, on-going community education as well as outreach activities are provided through a variety of means including the development and dissemination of bilingual literature, community workshops, health fairs, community mental health screenings and radio/audio programs through the local Chinese media.
As a community health center that attempts to address primary health care concerns of the local residents, CBWCHC provides a range of health care related services through its Health Education Department, Social Service Department and the WIC program in addition to medical care. Such a multidisciplinary setting allows the Bridge Program to facilitate the mental health needs of the Chinese community through a comprehensive and holistic approach.
Return to: Mental Health and Aging: October 6, 2004 Conference, Introductory page