Behavioral Health and Primary Care During and After COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic could lead to 75,000 additional deaths from alcohol and drug misuse and suicide, according to an analysis by Well Being Trust (WBT) and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care released in early May and titled Projected Deaths of Despair From COVID-19. This research underscores the fact that the pandemic has created enormous behavioral health (BH) concerns that primary care in tandem with BH can help address now and as the country emerges from the pandemic. We heard creative ideas from two of the authors of the Deaths of Despair brief as well as from a patient who also provides peer support. Join us as we discuss the steps the primary care community can take to avoid the deaths predicted in the report and meet the behavioral health needs arising from both the health and economic crises.

Speakers:

Jack Westfall, MD, MPH | Director, Robert Graham Center
Benjamin Miller, PsyD | Chief Strategy Officer, Well Being Trust
Kelly Davis | Director of Peer Advocacy, Supports, and Services, Mental Health America


Moderator:

Arthur C. Evans, Jr., PhD | Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, American Psychological Association

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