The US Mental Health System Is So Broken That Even Money Can't Fix It

Associations Between Patient Comfort with a Primary Care Provider and Three Measures of Behavioral Health Services Utilization

BACKGROUND

Behavioral health services (BHS) can help improve and treat mental and emotional health problems. Yet, attitudinal and/or structural barriers often prevent individuals from accessing and benefiting from these services. Positive provider-patient interactions in healthcare, encompassing patient comfort with a primary care provider (PCP), which is often enhanced by shared decision-making, may mitigate the stigma associated with seeing a mental health professional; this may improve BHS utilization among patients who need these services. However, few studies have examined how patient comfort with a PCP, often through shared decision-making, may influence patients' BHS utilization in the real world. This study sought to address this gap in practice.

METHOD

Multivariable regression analyses, using weighted data from an internet panel survey of Los Angeles County adults (n = 749), were carried out to examine the associations between patient comfort with a PCP and three measures of BHS utilization. Subsequent analyses were conducted to explore the extent to which shared decision-making moderated these associations.

RESULTS

Participants who reported an intermediate or high comfort level with a provider had higher odds of reporting that they were likely to see (aOR = 2.10 and 3.84, respectively) and get advice (aOR = 2.75 and 4.76, respectively) from a mental health professional compared to participants who reported a low comfort level. Although shared decision-making influenced participants' likelihood of seeing and getting advice from a mental health professional, it was not a statistically significant moderator in these associations.

CONCLUSION

Building stronger relationships with patients may improve BHS utilization, a provider practice that is likely underutilized.

Coaching with Internet-Based Mental Health Program: Patient and Coach Experiences

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the need for mental health treatment and the shortage of available providers. Internet-based, asynchronous mental health programs that incorporate coaching with a licensed provider address this widespread challenge. This study provides an in-depth exploration of both the patient and provider experience in webSTAIR, a coached, internet-based psychoeducational program, where coaching took place over video-telehealth. We focus on how patients and licensed mental health providers understood their coaching relationship in an internet-based mental health program. Materials and Methods: We interviewed a purposive sample of 60 patients who completed the coached, internet-based program and all 9 providers who provided coaching from 2017 to 2020. The project team and interviewers took notes during interviews. Patient interviews were studied using content and matrix analysis. Coach interviews were studied using thematic analysis. Results: Interviews across patients and coaches reveal the continued importance of relationship building and rapport and emphasized the central role of the coach in providing content clarification and application of skills. Discussion: For patients, coaches were critical for understanding and completing the internet-based program. As well, positive relationship with their coach further enhanced their experience in the program. Providers echoed the importance of relationship building and rapport for program success and saw their main role as helping patients to understand content and apply skills.