BRIDGES TO MENTAL HEALTH
Believed to be the first of its kind nationally, this workforce training helps mitigate the access crisis by initiating early mental health treatment in areas where patients and the public already come for care.
THE CHALLENGE
Mental illness directly affects 1 in 5 Nebraskans and Iowans.
Against this backdrop, there is a substantial shortage of mental health providers in our region, particularly within our rural communities.
However, providers oftentimes don’t have the training, confidence, and/or resources to adequately identify, diagnose, and/or treat these issues. Add to that—little time: Patients in Omaha alone have seen wait times extend to 8–12 weeks to be seen by a psychiatrist or psychologist. Access in rural communities is more dire.
THE RESPONSE
Bridges to Mental Health
Nebraska physicians Dr. John Mitchell and Dr. Bill Lydiatt, with generous ongoing support from the Hawks Foundation and others, began a project to expand the mental health workforce in Nebraska through a program called Bridges to Mental Health. Clarkson Institute has formalized and amplified this pioneering initiative.
The program trains primary care, specialty physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and mental health workers to:
- Improve diagnostic and therapeutic skills
- Strengthen confidence to expand care
- Heighten awareness of common psychiatric disorders
Through uptraining existing providers, this program helps mitigate this access crisis by initiating early mental health treatment in the places patients and the public already come for care.
Impact
There have been 14 sessions so far, reaching nearly 750 healthcare practitioners from across Nebraska, Western Iowa, and the surrounding region. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, underscoring the demand for expanded training.
Several more sessions are planned for providers, while we have recently adapted the program to target allied professions that experience the access crisis on a daily basis–for instance, educators.
Additional Support: Consultation Line
On-demand educational consultations and navigator support–connecting you to a psychiatrist within 30 minutes or at your requested callback time, plus community resources to strengthen patient care.
We are immensely grateful to the Hawks Foundation. Their generous initial and ongoing support of this program is helping establish Nebraska as a national leader in improving the mental wellness of its citizens.
John Mitchell, MD
Cofounder, Bridges to Mental Health
Research & Resources
- Common Rating Scales: General Anxiety Disorder (PDF)
- Common Rating Scales: Obsessive Disorder (PDF)
- Common Rating Scales: PHQ9 (PDF)
- Common Rating Scales: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PDF)
- Companion Presentation to Bridges to Mental Health: “My Secrets” by Dr. Todd Stull (MP4)
- Integrated Healthcare Project
- Kootenai Health Psychopharmacology Study Group (PDF)
- Listing of Therapists, Psychiatrists, Hospitals (PDF)
- Project PEACE
- Waco Guide to Psychopharmacology in Primary Care
Latest News & Press
- Bridges to Mental Health program expands to rural areas
- Bridges to Mental Health Event Unites Regional Leaders in McCook
- Bridging the Gap: An Educational Intervention to Enhance Mental Health Competency Among Primary and Specialty Care Providers
- “Make Nebraska gold standard for wellness”: Bridges to Mental Health shares its progress