Name
M06 - Building Primary Care Behavioral Health Workforce Capacity to Address Health Disparities in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Date & Time
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Location Name
302C
Description

This session explores the impact of increasing the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) workforce capacity to address behavioral health disparities in a predominantly Hispanic/Latino community. We will present findings from a quasi-experimental study evaluating the PCBH model's impact in increasing the behavioral health workforce and reducing depressive symptoms in patients over time. Attendees will gain insights into workforce training, patient outcomes, and sustainable models for behavioral health integration in underserved settings.

Speakers
Deepu George PhD, LMFT, Associate Professor, Director - Integrated Behavioral Health, Primary Care & Community Medicine ISU, UTRGC School of Medicine, Bala Cynwyd, Texas
Monica Perez PhD, Research Associate, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine, McAllen, Texas
Lupita Hernandez MPA, Director of Special Programs-PCBH Integration, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Pharr, TX
JoAnna Garza MSW, LCSW, Lead Behavioral Health Consultant, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), School of Medicine, Oakland, MD
Yvette Cantu Cazares MEd, Program Specialist, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine,
Deepu George Monica Perez Lupita Hernandez Yvette Cantu Cazares
Content Level
Intermediate
Tags
Primary Care Behavioral Health Model, Research and evaluation, Workforce development
Session Type
Concurrent
SIG or Committee
Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH)
Objective 1
Describe the implementation of the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model in a medically underserved, predominantly Hispanic/Latino region.
Objective 2
Identify key findings from a quasi-experimental study evaluating the impact of PCBH services on depressive symptoms.
Objective 3
Discuss workforce training strategies for integrating behavioral health providers into primary care to improve behavioral health outcomes.
Content Reference 1

Costantini, L., Pasquarella, C., Odone, A., Colucci, M. E., Costanza, A., Serafini, G., Aguglia, A., Belvederi Murri, M., Brakoulias, V., Amore, M., Ghaemi, S. N., & Amerio, A. (2021). Screening for depression in primary care with Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9): A systematic review. Journal of affective disorders, 279, 473–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.131

Content Reference 2

Funderburk, J. S., Wray, L. O., Martin, J., & Maisto, S. A. (2024). How do models of integrated primary care work? A proposed model for mechanisms of change using primary care behavioral health. Psychological services, 21(3), 569–580. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000871

Content Reference 3

Maeng, D. D., Poleshuck, E., Rosenberg, T., Kulak, A., Mahoney, T., Nasra, G., Lee, H. B., & Li, Y. (2022). Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration and Care Utilization: Implications for Patient Outcome and Healthcare Resource Use. Journal of general internal medicine, 37(11), 2691–2697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-07372-6

Content Reference 4

Robinson, P., Von Korff, M., Bush, T., Lin, E. H. B., & Ludman, E. J. (2020). The impact of primary care behavioral health services on patient behaviors: A randomized controlled trial. Families, Systems, & Health, 38(1), 6–15. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000474

Content Reference 5

Zanskas, S. A., Brasfield, M., Landry, M., Taylor, L. C., Delavega, E., & Neely-Barnes, S. (2022). Interprofessional Training: Preparing Graduate Counseling and Social Work Students for Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Settings. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 19(3), 314–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2022.2049944