It Takes a Team: Integrating Behavioral Health into Primary Care Settings
by Carol Tosone
Learn the mechanics of an integrated behavioral healthcare team treating a patient with medical, mental health, and substance abuse needs, and the important roles social workers play in enabling their patients to access services more seamlessly.
Take a realistic look at the collaborative care teams in which social workers are often involved. With many primary care settings now focusing on the holistic needs of patients, integrated behavioral healthcare has become more common. Learn how to address patients’ needs more thoroughly from a team approach, providing coordinated care of physical, mental health, and substance abuse needs.

As the “person in environment” approach is a signature of the social work field, social workers fit naturally into integrated behavioral healthcare. The important roles social workers play as part of multidisciplinary teams enables their patients to access services more seamlessly.

In this video you’ll watch Ana Gomez, a second year MSW intern, as she handles a new case and coordinates care with her colleagues. Ana meets Jess, a client who is seeking help for her diabetes, when it becomes apparent to the various professionals at the medical office that Jess would benefit from more services than just diabetes management. A team forms to provide Jess with coordinated care, and Ana plays a key role in the team, illustrating the importance of social workers in integrated healthcare.

It Takes a Team reminds clinicians that integrated healthcare aims to treat the entire person. It focuses on both physical and mental recovery, valuing the involvement of the client in each decision. In this way, the video illustrates the very foundation of the social work philosophy: meeting a client where he or she is and approaching all cases from the person in environment perspective. 
In Depth
Specs
Bios
If you’re curious about integrated care, this video is the best place to start. It Takes a Team provides a thorough overview of integrating behavioral healthcare into a primary healthcare setting, and it does so from the perspective of a social worker. You'll learn from the intern's experiences with a multi-needs client, and you'll enhance your knowledge of collaborative care through a great case example and insightful supervision.

From watching this video, you will:
  • See common reasons a client may need services from a team of professionals
  • Learn about the different services a holistic team approach offers clients
  • Understand how coordinated care fits into the social work philosophy and the key roles social workers play on integrated care teams
  • Learn the benefits of integrated healthcare as well as its challenges
  • Watch as an experienced supervisor suggests how to handle cases in integrated healthcare settings 

Length of video: 00:32:34

English subtitles available

Group ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-545-9

Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-545-8

Dr. Carol Tosone is an associate professor of social work and recipient of the NYU Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Tosone, who joined the NYU Silver School of Social Work faculty in 1993, is a Distinguished Scholar in Social Work in the National Academies of Practice in Washington, DC. Dr. Tosone was selected for a Fulbright Senior Specialist Award for teaching and research at the Hanoi University of Education in Vietnam. She also taught as Distinguished Visiting Lydia Rappaport Professor at Smith College for Social Work. Dr. Tosone received her certification in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy from the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, where she was the recipient of the Postgraduate Memorial Award.

Prior to her appointment at NYU, Dr. Tosone was an assistant professor of social work in psychiatry at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. She is editor-in-chief of the Clinical Social Work Journal and serves on the editorial boards of Social Work in Mental Health, Social Work in Health Care, Psychoanalytic Social Work, Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Smith College Studies in Social Work, and the online journal Beyond the Couch. She also serves as a consulting reviewer to numerous other psychotherapy journals and publishers.

Dr. Tosone is series editor for Essential Clinical Social Work Series published by Springer; co-editor of three books, Love and Attachment: Contemporary Issues and Treatment Considerations, Short-term Treatment, Doing More with Less: Using Long-term Skills in Short-Term Treatment, and Contemporary Clinical Practice: The Holding Environment Under Assault; and author of numerous professional articles and book chapters. She has also served as the executive producer, writer, and narrator of educational and community service media, including Why Am I Here?: Engaging the Reluctant Client; Feel Free to Feel Better: FEMA Trauma Training; Rewarding Challenges: Social Work with Older Adults; The Greying Elephant in the Room: Substance Abuse and Older Adults; Look Back to Move Ahead; Look Back to Move Ahead: Social Work with Survivors of Trauma; and No Periods, Only Commas: A Portrait of Tiffany.

Dr. Tosone has been quoted or cited in the New York Times, as well as other newspapers and magazines as an expert on trauma and women’s issues. Dr. Tosone has served as a visiting professor or guest lecturer at several international universities, including Hyllum University in South Korea, Sanata Dhara University in Java, Tonjgi University in Shanghai, and Peking University and China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. Dr. Tosone’s primary research interest is clinician exposure to collective trauma. She has served as a consultant to Psychology Beyond Borders in Indonesia; a member of the Doctors without Borders Hurricane Sandy Mental Health Response Team; and as a consultant to UNICEF and the Afghanistan Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and Disabled in the development of National Occupational Skills Standards for Social Work. Since joining the NYU faculty, Dr. Tosone has delivered over 100 professional papers and presentations in academic, medical, and mental health settings in the United States, as well as international venues in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. 
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