New models of mental health care coming to Alabama

New models of mental health care coming to Alabama

Navigating mental health care in the U.S. is difficult, due in part to stigma, a shortage of psychiatric practitioners and high costs.

In Alabama, it’s even more difficult: a 2017 study from Mental Health America found that Alabama ranked 50 out 51 states and the District of Columbia in access to mental health care.

But across the state, mental health providers are trying out two new models of mental health care—crisis centers and certified community behavioral health clinics—to fill in these gaps.

Crisis centers are meant to provide short-term, emergency care for people in a mental health crisis, keeping them out of jails and emergency rooms. Certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs) are health centers designed to provide all levels of mental health care, including some primary care services, in an effort to provide better health outcomes for people with mental illnesses.

There’s a need to fill in these gaps in mental health care, as often, people dealing with mental illness end up in jail instead of accessing care. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about two in five people that are incarcerated are dealing with mental illness.