Course Description
Session 1: Foundations of Psychiatric Consultation
Objectives:
- Define the psychiatric consultant’s role on the integrated care team
- Identify characteristics of an effective psychiatric consultant
- Introduction to the full range of consultative supports
- Explore the referring provider’s perspective
- Understand practical steps for launching your consulting career
Description:
This opening session sets the stage for your consulting journey. You’ll gain clarity on your role, understand what referring providers need most, and learn how to align your expertise with team goals. Practical guidance will help you take concrete steps toward building your consulting practice, while case examples illustrate what makes psychiatric consultants effective collaborators.
Session 2: Curbside Consultation in Action
Objectives:
- Describe the role of curbside discussions along the psychiatric consultation continuum
- Recognize opportunities and common pitfalls in brief curbside interactions
- Learn concise, effective communication strategies through case examples
Description:
Brief, informal conversations can make a big difference. This session focuses on optimizing curbside consultations to deliver quick, actionable guidance that drives better care decisions. Through interactive, case-based scenarios, you’ll learn how to provide clarity, build trust with referring providers, and enhance patient outcomes in just a few minutes.
Session 3: Maximizing Electronic Consultation and Direct Evaluations
Objectives:
- Explain the role of electronic consultations (e-consults) and one-time direct evaluations in integrated care
- Assess when and how to use each format effectively
- Apply best practices through case-based demonstrations
Description:
E-consults and direct evaluations are powerful tools for extending psychiatric expertise. This session explores how to strategically use these approaches, either independently or within a stepped-care model, to meet the needs of diverse patient populations. Real-world examples illustrate how to streamline communication, document efficiently, and expand your consultative reach.
Session 4: The Psychiatric Consultant in Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)
Objectives:
- Clearly define your role as a psychiatric consultant on CoCM teams
- Understand how consultant activities influence outcomes and population health
- Master core CoCM activities, documentation, and communication techniques
Description:
As a psychiatric consultant in CoCM, you are the clinical anchor of a proven, evidence-based model. This session teaches you how to partner effectively with primary care providers and behavioral health care managers, conduct impactful case reviews, and make treatment recommendations that move population health metrics. Practical strategies will help you maximize your impact on both individual patients and the system as a whole.
Session 5: Systematic Case Reviews in Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)
Objectives:
- Identify best practices for Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) Systematic Case Review (SCR)
- Outline considerations for SCR documentation
- Understand dynamic SCR processes for the Behavioral Health Care Manager (BHCM) and Psychiatric Consultant (PC) through real-time, role-play demonstrations
Description:
Systematic Case Reviews (SCRs) are the heartbeat of Collaborative Care. This session will teach you how to prepare for, lead, and document SCRs to optimize patient outcomes. Through live demonstrations and role-play, you’ll see how psychiatric consultants and care managers can work together to streamline workflows, close care gaps, and prioritize patients for stepped-up treatment.
Session 6: Integrated Psychiatric Consultation in the Real World
Objectives:
- Consolidate key lessons through rich, case-based examples grounded in clinical expertise and evidence
- Apply consultation strategies across multiple integrated care models, including but not limited to CoCM
- Develop actionable approaches for using consultative skills in primary care, specialty medicine, and emerging care settings
Description:
This capstone session ties everything together, focusing on real-world implementation. Participants will explore how to adapt consultation strategies to diverse models of care, from primary care to specialty medicine. By the end of this session, you’ll leave with a practical, evidence-informed framework to deliver confident, high-impact consultation that drives measurable outcomes across the healthcare continuum.