Integrated behavioral healthcare: The future of rural mental health

Providing integrated behavioral healthcare is often a means to increase accessibility to mental health services for rural communities. An early thrust to encourage collaboration between mental health providers and medical providers was financed by state and federal grants. In today’s society, a majority of individuals experiencing mental health problems seek assistance in primary care medical facilities, a situation that could lead to inadequate mental healthcare. The integration of behavioral healthcare into primary care medical facilities may be necessary to assure better quality of client care. The purpose of this study was to determine how this working collaboration between mental health services and medical services is perceived by its consumers living in rural areas. The researcher examined integrated behavioral healthcare through the eyes of clients and providers. The research questions were answered through online questionnaires distributed to three sets of respondents: clients who had received counseling, medical providers, and clinical mental health providers.