Using Brief Standardized Measures in Behavioral Health Practice:

The Why, What, & How of Routine Screening

6 CEs ~ Bedford, New Hampshire

SERESC Conference Center

Presented by Barbara Ward-Zimmerman, Ph.D.

This applied workshop highlights interprofessional communication strategies and techniques for assisting patients to move from screening to active participation in treatment.

Included in your registration:

Printed materials, continental breakfast, lunch, mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments

Conference Schedule

8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Workshop

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch (included)

Workshop Description:

Healthcare transformation in the U.S. is focused on improving patient outcomes and experiences while simultaneously lowering the costs of care. The importance of addressing the behavioral health needs of the population is increasingly recognized as vital to the achievement of these goals.

As the routine administration of standardized behavioral health screening measures offers an efficient mechanism for documenting to healthcare funders and collaborating medical providers the value added by behavioral health clinical services, the rationale and practicalities of this practice will be reviewed during this skill building workshop.

Participants will learn a wide range of brief screening tools, many of which are freely available, to identify concerns and track patient progress in pediatric to geriatric populations. Video demonstrations and interactive exercises will assist in skill mastery. Independent practice, mental health clinic, and colocated behavioral health clinicians who include screening results when communicating patient progress to medical providers and insurers will position themselves for roles in the newly developing models of collaborative healthcare. This workshop will therefore highlight interprofessional communication strategies. Techniques for assisting patients to move from screening to active participation in treatment will round out the discussion.

Learning Objectives:

This workshop is designed to help participants:

1. Discuss the value of routinely conducting standardized behavioral health screening in clinical practice to quantify presenting concerns, track patient progress, and document treatment outcomes.

2. Describe the broad range of concerns warranting screening, including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, substance misuse, ADHD, sleep difficulties, trauma, pain, and dementia.

3. List national, professional, and insurance industry directives (e.g., the United States Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations) for behavioral health screening by healthcare providers.

4. Select evidenced-based screening instruments to be used with specific age groups across the lifespan, from pediatrics to geriatrics.

Plan methods for incorporating behavioral health screening into clinical practice, whether working independently, in a mental health clinic, or colocated/integrated in primary care.

5. Apply strategies to assist patients who screen positive, but are ambivalent about making lifestyle changes or carrying out treatment recommendations, to improve their behavioral and physical health.

6. Communicate standardized screening results to medical providers, improving patient care by fostering interprofessional collaboration and increasing the potential for future referrals and inclusion in newly evolving healthcare systems.

Presenter:

Barbara Ward-Zimmerman, Ph.D., Integrated Care Consultant and Chair of the CT Psychological Association’s Health Care Reform Task Force, works in collaboration with the Child Health and Development Institute of CT and various other organizations and agencies to assess and improve the coordination of behavioral health and primary care across the state of CT.

Dr. Ward-Zimmerman served as a collaboratively co-located psychologist in a pediatric practice for over a decade and now advocates for administrative and financial system changes to facilitate integration. She is active in the training of pediatricians, mental health providers, psychology graduate students, school personnel, and care coordinators on topics related to collaboration and primary care behavioral health. She also serves on a number of CT workgroups promoting the integration of children’s mental health screening and early intervention within the primary care setting and co-chairs the Integrated Primary Care Committee of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Health Psychology, developing an introductory graduate curriculum on primary care psychology to be adopted by universities nationwide and a similar continuing education course for practicing psychologists.

Dr. Ward-Zimmerman completed her doctoral studies at the University of Virginia, her internship at the Yale Child Study Center, and participated in the inaugural launching of the Certificate Program in Primary Care Behavioral Health sponsored by the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Cancellation policy: Refunds, minus a 35% cancellation fee, will be issued for all cancellations received two weeks prior to the start of the course (on or before October 21, 2017). No refunds or vouchers will be made thereafter. No shows are not refunded.

Inclement weather policy: In the event that NHPA has to postpone or reschedule the training conference, a voucher equivalent to the full price amount of what was paid for the conference, will be issued. If NHPA has to cancel the event with no postponement or reschedule date, a full refund will be given. Please be sure that NHPA has your up-to-date contact information (email/text/phone). Any weather cancellations or postponements will be made no later than three hours prior to an event. Should you have questions or concerns about whether an event may be changed due to weather, please check the NHPA website or call our office at (603) 415-0451.

Full attendance: is required to obtain CEs. No partial credit will be given.