Behavioral Health Services

David Vander Straten, MD, discusses National Health Center Week and the relationship between Austin/Travis County Integral Care and CommUnityCare.

CommUnityCare offers an integrated behavioral health program. E-Merge is a collaborative program between CommUnityCare and Austin Travis County Integral Care. The E-Merge program brings behavioral health care services into the primary health care clinics. The goal of the program is to help patients achieve both improved physical and mental health by addressing these needs together.

Behavioral health providers work closely with our primary care provider team to offer timely, culturally sensitive and comprehensive health care services. The behavioral health care providers use a variety of brief therapy approaches to assist patients challenged by mild to moderate behavioral disorders. This includes substance abuse disorders. Our approach to behavioral health services helps us meet the demands of the fast paced primary care clinic setting, allowing us to serve more patients on a daily basis.

Behavioral health services include:

30-minute initial assessment appointment
30-minute follow-up treatment sessions
Group counseling sessions
4 to 6 treatment sessions, as needed. Clinicians have the flexibility to provide additional sessions when clinically indicated to address the patient's need.
Coordination with the medical provider to ensure that the patient's physical and emotional/behavioral health needs are being met. This may include assessment for and monitoring the response to psychiatric medications.
Cognitive-behavioral and/or interpersonal therapy models to address functional needs.
Patient education such as teaching self-management and personal care skills.
Referrals to community resources as needed.
Referral and coordination with specialty behavioral health services or psychiatric emergency services is provided through Austin Travis County Integral Care (ATCIC).
Psychiatric services provided on-site in the primary care clinics by contracted psychiatrists who are members of ATCIC.

About our Behavioral Health Providers:
Our behavioral health providers deliver services to adults and children in individual, group, family and couples sessions. These providers are fully bilingual in Spanish and English and must have a Master's Degree or higher and be licensed to practice in the State of Texas as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Professional Counselor, or a Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor. These providers are also all members of the ATCIC. To learn more, please click here: ATCIC

David Vander Straten, MD, discusses 2010 National Health Center Week and the relationship with Austin/Travis County Integral Care.