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Editor’s note: This article discusses mental health, its challenges, and resources that can help. If you or someone you know is in crisis or just needs to talk, call the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and press “1”, or text 838255, or chat for the dedicated Veterans Crisis Line and Military Crisis Line. For Spanish, press “2”. If you’re overseas, reach out via chat first to find the best phone option depending on your location.
A Defense Health Agency project called Targeted Care, aimed at enhancing access to mental health support, is showing promising results. Patients at sites using Targeted Care are getting their first mental health appointment more quickly.
Data shows that Targeted Care reduces the average time for patients to get support by 5.3 days, said Angelica Escalona, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology with a specialty in neuropsychology and is the clinical director of outpatient behavioral health in DHA’s behavioral health clinical management team.
The average number of days from intake to the first follow-up or group appointment decreased by 7.1 days from January 2023 to May 2024.
Targeted Care streamlines the process for people seeking mental health care. After an intake interview by a trained mental health professional, patients are directed to the mental health resource that best suits their needs. This can include military and family life counselors, primary care, mental health specialty care, chaplains, or many other clinical or nonclinical programs on the installation.
“Not every challenge is best met by clinical mental health services,” said Escalona. “The Targeted Care process helps mental health staff identify the needs of incoming patients and match them with the best resource to get help quickly.”
This approach enables more efficient use of clinical mental health resources, helping patients get help quickly. You don’t need a referral, and you won’t be turned away or denied specialty care.
“Patients don't leave the clinic without an appointment or some kind of guidance,” said Escalona. “Clinic staff make sure that the person has something in hand, whether it's a resource, a phone number to reach a resource, an attempt to reach the resource and get them into that resource, or they’ve booked an appointment.”
Winn Army Community Hospital, which serves Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia, began using Targeted Care in 2024. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Gina Wright, the chief of behavioral health at the hospital and a licensed clinical social worker, said Targeted Care has a positive impact on patients.
“Targeted Care increases awareness of mental health prevention and treatment programs and improves the synergy between them.”
Another feature Wright and Escalona highlighted is the warm handoff for patients in the clinic.
“We help the patient make the phone call to book an appointment with their own phone,” said Wright. “That way, they’re taking the initiative themselves, and they have an appointment before they leave the clinic.”
“We try to make sure that a person feels they're heard,” said Escalona. “They're not being turned away.”
Nearly 27 mental health clinics across the DHA are currently using Targeted Care, said Escalona. It’s rolling out to the rest of the Military Health System this year.
Service members and families alike have access to a wide range of mental health support programs, including primary care behavioral health, specialty outpatient behavioral health, alcohol and other substance misuse, and gambling programs, inpatient hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs.
Targeting the Care Best for You
The MHS Mental Health Hub (www.health.mil/mentalhealth) can help you find a list of resources for immediate assistance or appointments. Service members and beneficiaries can find more help on the suicide prevention and mental health webpage on dha.mil (www.dha.mil/suicideprevention).
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2025 14:51 |
| Story ID: | 502020 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 108 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Targeted Care Reduces Wait Times for Those Most in Need of Mental Health Care, by Janet A. Aker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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