The Need for Integrated Behavioral Health

More than 80% of Texas counties are designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas — and the gap in care is growing as the number of new behavioral health professionals entering the workforce lags behind population growth. The implication for Texans? A lack of access to behavioral health services that contributes to negative health outcomes. Integrated care models that focus on the whole person — addressing both physical and mental health conditions — significantly improve an individual’s overall health.

The Integrated Behavioral Health Scholars Program at The University of Texas at Austin is closing the behavioral health workforce shortage in Texas by promoting training in evidence-based integrated models of care. Scholars also learn to identify social, economic and environmental factors that contribute to major health disparities. The program cultivates health care leaders who can use this knowledge to better serve their community and patients, with a focus on people in Central Texas who do not receive adequate health care.

Students in the program specialize in one of two concentrations. There is a critical need for integrated care for individuals at risk for or living with substance use disorder in Austin and Travis County. The Addiction and Recovery concentration fills this need in educating behavioral health providers to care for individuals with substance use disorder, particularly people who are medically underserved. The Youth and Family concentration focuses on developmentally-tailored and trauma-informed services to meet the needs of underserved and at-risk children, adolescents, and transition-age youth in our community

The IBH Scholars Program is supported by grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration. This program has also been supported in the past by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.