Scalable Mental Health Solutions

For too long, child and family mental health intervention and services innovation have neglected scalability as a design consideration. We work closely with healthcare agencies, community groups, funders, and policymakers to develop scalable approaches to workforce development, leadership support, and payment reform.

Our Work Creating Scalable Mental Health Solutions

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WELLBEING APPROACH TO CARE

The Wellbeing Approach to Care Blueprint is a practical guide for integrating Wellbeing Specialists into Washington State’s public behavioral health system—expanding access to culturally grounded, team-based mental health support. Developed through a multiyear, community-driven codesign process led by the CARE project, the Blueprint provides actionable guidance for behavioral health organizations, policymakers, and workforce planners.

CULTURALLY AFFIRMING & RESPONSIVE MENTAL HEALTH (CARE) FOR KIDS & FAMILIES

With workforce shortages and the impact of COVID-19 on our communities' mental health, the need for expanding access to culturally responsive, child mental and behavioral health services is immense. CARE for Kids & Families is a new project led by a growing coalition of collaborators and facilitated by UW’s CoLab for Community and Behavioral Health Policy that works to address that need while centering community knowledge and lived experience. This initiative has been funded through Washington State legislative proviso. Learn more, here.

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EMBEDDED CLINICAL COACHING

Embedded Clinical Coaching (ECC) is an innovative approach to clinical training that empowers behavioral health provider agencies to flexibly train their own workforce in evidence-based practices. ECC uses asynchronous online training, skills demonstrations, and peer-led consultation groups to "embed" experience in evidence-based practices within provider agencies.

TELEMENTAL hEALTH GUIDES fOR INFANCY tO YOUNG ADULTS

The TeleMental Health Guides were developed to help clinicians integrate TMH into their clinical practice with young people according to their developmental stage from young childhood to young adults 24 years old. Guides included: Infants & Toddlers, Pre-School Children, Elementary-School Children, Middle School-Aged Youth, High School-Aged Youth, Young Adults, Neuropsychological Testing, and Suicidality.

Past Work

bEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE COLLABORATIVE

The UW AIMS Center, the Behavioral Health Institute, and the UW CoLab jointly launched the Behavioral Health Workforce Collaborative in 2022. This initiative brought system partners, organizations, and community members together to better support and expand the behavioral health workforce in Washington State. This learning community aimed to defragment and bridge current workforce initiatives while fostering spaces for envisioning new ways to address the workforce crisis.

USER DESIGN LAB (FAST)

The CoLab design lab sought to gain feedback to understand user needs and pain points and provide recommendations for revisions to ensure that the program is culturally and linguistically sensitive, age-appropriate, and engaging. CoLab partnered with the First Approach Skills Training (FAST) program at Seattle Children’s Hospital to conduct user experience research with youth to revise the language, flow, organization, and visuals for the First Approach Skills Training for Anxiety (FAST-A) program.