Community of Practice: Expanding Behavioral Health Services Integration in Health Centers
October 22, 2025 – January 28, 2026
(Every other Wednesday, with a two-week holiday break)
2:00 – 3:00 PM ET
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET optional office hours
Description:
This eight-session Community of Practice (CoP) will show HRSA-supported health centers how to implement and sustain effective behavioral health service expansion in their care settings. This CoP will cover topics including evidence-based integrated care models; levels of primary care and behavioral health integration; and how to establish an effective, team-based integrated care environment and apply a systems-level approach to implement and sustain effective, comprehensive integrated care. Leveraging expert-led presentations and facilitated peer discussions, health center teams will learn about and exchange effective strategies to achieve enhanced levels of successful behavioral health integration/service expansion in their settings.
Behavioral health professionals may earn one continuing education credit for attending each CoP session.
Objectives:
At the end of this CoP, participants will be able to:
- Articulate the difference between common integrated care models.
- Describe the five foundational aspects of effective behavioral health integration.
- Determine key operations that identify behavioral health integration and behavioral health service expansion at different levels of integrated care.
- Identify strategies to influence language and communication to build a more robust integrated care environment.
- Apply a systems approach to build a more effective and sustainable integrated care model within their health center.
Facilitator:
Laura Ross, MS, LMFT, CCTP, CTMH is a Technical Expert Lead for JBS International, Inc. and a senior clinician and executive leader in behavioral health for over 25 years. Her current work employs an interdisciplinary approach to integrating behavioral health into traditionally medically based health care systems and settings. She has experience directing state and federal grants (Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Centers for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)) utilizing evidence-based and patient-directed practices in the provision of telehealth and in-person behavioral health and medical care settings. She currently consults for organizations of all sizes, providing training and technical assistance on rural behavioral telehealth integration and primary care and behavioral health integration.