Blog

The Center of Excellence for Integrated Care blog will highlight areas of interest in integrated care and a variety of perspectives on the process of organizational change as it relates to integrated care.

Community Responses to Mental Health

Living through the COVID-19 Pandemic taught us a lot about our well-being – physically, socially, and especially mentally and emotionally. With unending days of isolation and distance, lack of routines, consistent uncertainty and fear, as well as grief and loss, the topic of conversation quickly highlighted the emotional suffering experienced by many. It emphasized that […]

How to Find a Therapist

“A good therapist will meet you wherever you are in your journey and help you get closer to truly living your best life—however you define that.”   Sara Herrity Moscarelli, MS, LMFT | COE Senior Project Manager Finding a therapist can be confusing and challenging to navigate whether you have been to therapy before or are […]

Social Media and Mental Health: Friends or Foes?

I am an elder millennial. I am part of the generation that knew what life was like before social media, but also went through middle school with the AIM screenname “saraobx”—leaving away messages with moody song lyrics and “brb ttyl lylas”. The generation who had to receive an invite to join Facebook when it was […]

All Parts Make Whole Person Health

Our bodies are made up of complex systems. Not being a physician, I cannot explain the intricacies of our neurological system, respiratory system, endocrine system, digestive system and so on. I can however tell you that when I experience a stressor, I have a thought and depending on that thought my breathing may change, my […]

Nurture Your Whole-Person Health

Have you ever had a day, a month, or, heck, maybe even a whole year or YEARS that really tested your resolve? A time that really pushed you mentally, physically, socially, spiritually to the edge? Maybe your sleep was troubled and you ate what you could when you could. Perhaps you forgot to call and […]

The Spirit of Mental Well-being

In the behavioral and mental health space, we talk often about the biopsychosocial (BPS) model that was developed in the 70’s by psychiatrist Dr. George Engel. As we move in to 2023, some might reference the BPS model when talking about whole person care, a phrase that is firmly taking hold in healthcare overall. Our […]

Healthy Relationships and Mental Well-being

Can you think of a person in your social circle who makes you laugh easily, helps you feel heard and understood, and feels energizing to be around? Relationships, and relational health, are instrumental in our mental well-being. As part of our Mental Health Awareness Month series, which we kicked off last week (https://bit.ly/3VzZslH), we will […]

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it cannot be denied that mental health has become a focal point of many broader discussions in our state and country over the last few years. There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the state of mental health in North Carolina and beyond. According to Mental […]

Bringing it to Life

While the month of May flew by, the idea of mental health awareness, is here to stay. Now more than ever, Americans are talking about their mental health in a way that is forcing the conversation around the unnecessary stigma of seeking support. No longer in the shadows of healthcare, mental health is slowly gaining […]

Passing it on

*For the month of May, honoring Mental Health Awareness, the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care, a program of the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation, will host a series of blogs following Alex. These weekly journal entries from Alex begin in 2032 when Alex is 18 years old. Over the month Alex will reflect […]

Community Responses to Mental Health

Living through the COVID-19 Pandemic taught us a lot about our well-being – physically, socially, and especially mentally and emotionally. With unending days of isolation and distance, lack of routines, consistent uncertainty and fear, as well as grief and loss, the topic of conversation quickly highlighted the emotional suffering experienced by many. It emphasized that […]

How to Find a Therapist

“A good therapist will meet you wherever you are in your journey and help you get closer to truly living your best life—however you define that.”   Sara Herrity Moscarelli, MS, LMFT | COE Senior Project Manager Finding a therapist can be confusing and challenging to navigate whether you have been to therapy before or are […]

Social Media and Mental Health: Friends or Foes?

I am an elder millennial. I am part of the generation that knew what life was like before social media, but also went through middle school with the AIM screenname “saraobx”—leaving away messages with moody song lyrics and “brb ttyl lylas”. The generation who had to receive an invite to join Facebook when it was […]

All Parts Make Whole Person Health

Our bodies are made up of complex systems. Not being a physician, I cannot explain the intricacies of our neurological system, respiratory system, endocrine system, digestive system and so on. I can however tell you that when I experience a stressor, I have a thought and depending on that thought my breathing may change, my […]

Nurture Your Whole-Person Health

Have you ever had a day, a month, or, heck, maybe even a whole year or YEARS that really tested your resolve? A time that really pushed you mentally, physically, socially, spiritually to the edge? Maybe your sleep was troubled and you ate what you could when you could. Perhaps you forgot to call and […]

The Spirit of Mental Well-being

In the behavioral and mental health space, we talk often about the biopsychosocial (BPS) model that was developed in the 70’s by psychiatrist Dr. George Engel. As we move in to 2023, some might reference the BPS model when talking about whole person care, a phrase that is firmly taking hold in healthcare overall. Our […]

Healthy Relationships and Mental Well-being

Can you think of a person in your social circle who makes you laugh easily, helps you feel heard and understood, and feels energizing to be around? Relationships, and relational health, are instrumental in our mental well-being. As part of our Mental Health Awareness Month series, which we kicked off last week (https://bit.ly/3VzZslH), we will […]

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it cannot be denied that mental health has become a focal point of many broader discussions in our state and country over the last few years. There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the state of mental health in North Carolina and beyond. According to Mental […]

Bringing it to Life

While the month of May flew by, the idea of mental health awareness, is here to stay. Now more than ever, Americans are talking about their mental health in a way that is forcing the conversation around the unnecessary stigma of seeking support. No longer in the shadows of healthcare, mental health is slowly gaining […]

Passing it on

*For the month of May, honoring Mental Health Awareness, the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care, a program of the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation, will host a series of blogs following Alex. These weekly journal entries from Alex begin in 2032 when Alex is 18 years old. Over the month Alex will reflect […]

Essential Understanding: What is psychotherapy?

Friday, September 25th is recognized as “National Psychotherapy Day” in the United States. In healthcare, we have observed that some patients, clients, and providers seem to have an aversion to the idea of psychotherapy, probably due to the stigma associated with the term or related terms. As a team of therapists working to promote behavioral health integration and whole-person care, the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care staff wanted to use today as an opportunity to promote a better understanding of psychotherapy.

Mental Health and Substance Use in Community Health Webinar Series

Implementation in a Flash

This edition of the COE blog is co-authored by Julie Austen, PhD, and Lisa Tyndall, PhD, LMFT. Dr. Austen is an Implementation Specialist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Tyndall is a Senior Integration Specialist at the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care […]

Experiencing Integrated Care

Welcome to the Team In this story, Ricky Caliendo, LMHC, provides a narrative that describes the experience of integrated care from a patient’s perspective. The names of the patient and doctor are fictitious. “Another night of lost sleep,” I think to myself as the screeches of a toddler travel into my bedroom. There he is. […]

North Carolina Integrated Care Symposium 2019

In the fall of 2019, the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation’s Center of Excellence for Integrated Care, in partnership with Wake AHEC, hosted the North Carolina Integrated Care Symposium 2019: Inspire, Educate, and Connect.

COVID-19 Tests Integrated Care’s Resiliency

COVID-19 Tests Integrated Care’s Resiliency by Ricky Caliendo, LMHC The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed providers, patients, and organizations toward — and beyond — their limits of discomfort, with the potential to remain this way for the foreseeable future. The healthcare system braced itself as the COVID-19 pandemic shocked our nation. Moreover, the world of integrated […]

Maintaining Mental Health During a Pandemic

Maintaining Mental Health During a Pandemic by Brady Blackburn, MA COE was pleased to collaborate on this blog post with the North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative (NCOHC), one of our partner programs at the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, on a discussion of the intersection of mental health, the oral health care world, provider […]

Stress, or more?

Is stress common? Definitely. We all experience good stress, such as excitement, and then there is stress that challenges us. This is a normal part of life. Do mental health disorders exist? Of course.

Uncertainty in the time of COVID-19

Grace in Uncertain Times by Lisa Tyndall, PhD, LMFT In the midst of COVID-19, most mornings I wake up unsure of how the day will find me. I know what I am supposed to do, and how I am supposed to feel. The experts say I should slow down, take time to be grateful, some […]

Making the Transition to Teletherapy

Making the Transition to Teletherapy Teletherapy is a wonderful resource for both providers and patients. Prior to COVID-19 many clinicians were dabbling in the world of teletherapy; however, now a majority of clinicians and patients are being asked to jump feet first into this virtual experience. There are a myriad of resources on teletherapy, however, […]

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