UW Health’s last two community health needs assessments highlighted the need for mental health services. Based on this identified need, UW Health started working in 2017 on supporting all patients in primary care with their mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic put the program expansion on hold for some time, but now the Adult Collaborative Care program is in all UW Health family medicine and general internal medicine clinic sites. 

Collaborative Care is an innovative care model providing more access to team-based, integrated behavioral health care. These UW Health clinics have at least one position for a dedicated behavioral health clinician on site to provide short-term therapy services to patients ages 18 and over with diagnoses of depression and anxiety. 

The Pediatric Collaborative Care program started rolling out services to patients ages 4-17 with depression and anxiety diagnoses in June 2021. Expansion continues, and it is anticipated that all family medicine clinics will have these services available by spring 2023. Future roll outs will include patients ages 4-17 with a diagnosis of ADHD.