Skip to main content

Medical Family Therapy in Community Health Centers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Clinical Methods in Medical Family Therapy

Part of the book series: Focused Issues in Family Therapy ((FIFT))

Abstract

Community health centers (CHCs) provide affordable, accessible care to patients in urban and rural areas across the nation. Health centers must be located in underserved locales, governed by a community-majority board, provide a core set of primary care services, and offer a sliding fee scale to patients under 200% of the federal poverty level (National Associations of Community Health Centers, 2017a). Based on most recent figures, health centers serve more than 25 million patients (1 out of every 15 Americans), 71% of whom are at the 100% federal poverty level and below and 83% are uninsured or publicly insured (NACHC, 2017a). Health centers employ over 8400 mental health and substance abuse staff and provide access to these services in the most underserved communities in the nation. In 2015, over 8.3 million clinic visits were provided for mental health or substance abuse issues; this represents a 56% growth in behavioral health visits since 2010 (NACHC, 2017b).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Note: References that are prefaced with an asterisk are recommended readings.

References

Note: References that are prefaced with an asterisk are recommended readings.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Hodgson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Additional Resources

Additional Resources

Literature

Engel, J. (2006). Poor people’s medicine: Medicaid and American charity care since 1965. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Hoffman, B. (2012). Health care for some: Rights and rationing in the United States since 1930. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Lefkowitz, B. (2007). Community health centers: A movement and the people who made it happen. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Minkler, M., & Wallerstein, N. (Eds.). (2011). Community-based participatory research for health: From process to outcomes. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

Ward Jr., T. J., & Geiger, H. J. (2016). Out in the rural: A Mississippi health center and its war on poverty. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Electronic Resources

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: The Role of Community-Based Participatory Research. https://archive.ahrq.gov/research/cbprrole.htm

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health: Community-Based Participatory Research. https://depts.washington.edu/ccph/commbas.html

Health Resources Services Administration: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. https://www.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth

Measures/Instruments

Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). https://www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/files/AUDIT.pdf

Anxiety: Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7). http://www.phqscreeners.com/sites/g/files/g10016261/f/201412/GAD-7_English.pdf

CAGE AID Questionnaire. http://www.integration.samhsa.gov/images/res/CAGEAID.pdf

Depression: Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). http://www.phqscreeners.com/sites/g/files/g10016261/f/201412/PHQ-9_English.pdf

Drug Abuse Screen Test (DAST—10). https://www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/dast-10.pdf

Duke Population Health Profile (Duke-PH). http://www.integration.samhsa.gov/clinical-practice/DukeForm.pdf

Social Determinants of Health/Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patient Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE). http://www.nachc.org/research-and-data/prapare/

Suicide Risk: Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). http://cssrs.columbia.edu/the-columbia-scale-c-ssrs/about-the-scale/, http://www.integration.samhsa.gov/clinical-practice/Columbia_Suicide_Severity_Rating_Scale.pdf

Trauma: PTSD Checklist—Civilian version (PCL-C). https://www.mirecc.va.gov/docs/visn6/3_PTSD_CheckList_and_Scoring.pdf

Organizations/Associations

Health Resources Services Administration: Health Center Program. https://bphc.hrsa.gov

National Association of Community Health Centers. www.nachc.org

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov

RCHN Community Health Foundation. http://www.rchnfoundation.org

The Community Health Center Story. http://www.chcchronicles.org

Glossary of Important Terms for Care in Community Health Centers

Collaborative care

The process of working with healthcare providers across disciplines to discuss patient’s diagnoses, treatment options, and interventions and to develop a treatment plan.

Cost report

Often used for Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements , a report that includes information about the provider system (e.g., an FQHC), including utilization of services, charges to patients, and cost of services.

Encounters

A face-to-face visit between a patient and healthcare provider that must include a treatment intervention and proper documentation.

Encounter rate

A facility-specific rate that is paid to an FQHC to cover the cost of services for each valid encounter.

Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)

A comprehensive healthcare center designed to service underserved populations, typically in areas with limited health resources. FQHCs must offer a sliding fee option to patients without insurance and are eligible for enhanced reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.

Health behaviors

Practices, habits, and knowledge that can improve a patient’s health.

Health disparities

The differences in health status that socially disadvantaged populations experience. Factors that contribute to health disparities include access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, geographic location, race/ethnicity, and gender.

Population health

Factors contributing to the health of (and the health outcomes of) a group of individuals who share a common illness, environment, or social identity.

Promotora

A Hispanic/Latino community member who provides basic health education to the population as a trained lay person (not as a professional healthcare worker).

Rural health clinics

Public, profit, or nonprofit clinics located in rural, underserved areas to provide primary care services to rural populations .

Social determinants of health

The social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to an individual’s health status, including marital status, education, socioeconomic status, and immigration (see PRAPARE in Resources for more details).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hodgson, J., Lamson, A., Aamar, R., Limon, F. (2018). Medical Family Therapy in Community Health Centers. In: Mendenhall, T., Lamson, A., Hodgson, J., Baird, M. (eds) Clinical Methods in Medical Family Therapy. Focused Issues in Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68834-3_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics