This session will engage attendees through conversation about a 20-year partnership that created, tested, and grew a model of integrated care, now known as Relationally Centered Integrated Behavioral Health. Evidence in support of the systemic training, integrated care service delivery, and multi-disciplinary collaboration in rural communities will be discussed along with clinical, operational, financial, and training pathways that emerged through this partnership.

Relationally Centered Integrated behavioral health (RCIBH) is an evidence-based model of health delivery that began nearly 20 years ago through a partnership between a university’s medical family therapy program and a Federally Qualified Health Center. The clinics, all in rural communities, have patients who face persistent barriers to access, workforce shortages, and higher rates of unmet behavioral health needs. 

This presentation describes a 20-year evolution of a rural integrated care program that grew from having no behavioral health services to a highly integrated model embedding RCIBH providers within multiple rural community health centers. We highlight how interdisciplinary teams function in rural contexts using Peek’s clinical, operational, financial, and training worlds to guide implementation and sustainability in systems serving rural populations.

We will talk about the use of the model across pediatric, adult, dental services, and school-based health centers in rural communities. We will also discuss key shifts in the model over time driven by increased awareness for community and relationally focused changes in clinical and organizational practices, and research-informed decision making.

The presentation concludes with practical lessons learned and recommendations for healthcare leaders seeking to build, sustain, and evaluate rural integrated care models, including strategies to promote provider and administrative buy-in, assess model fidelity, and improve patient and family outcomes.