The National Council is pleased to congratulate the 2011 cohort of the Depression Care Collaborative for the completion of the project. The program concluded with a final in-person meeting on May 16th and a wrap-up webinar on June 20th where the cohort shared successes from the program and plans for next steps within their organizations. A final press release about the program will be available shortly. For more information about the Depression Care Collaborative or to speak directly with program alumni, please contact Mohini Venkatesh. 

About the Program

Vision

Class of 2011

Faculty

Collaborative Materials

For more information about the Depression Care Collaborative, contact Mohini Venkatesh, 202-684-3730.

Vision

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States and the most common diagnosis among clients served by National Council members. In light of this, the National Council has launched a new initiative, the Depression Care Collaborative. The ability to track treatment progress over time is becoming an expectation for clinical care. This initiative is designed to help organizations implement evidence-based depression care in community behavioral health organizations, adapting the IMPACT model and learning from the National Depression Management Leadership Initiative: Improving Depression Care project. Key elements of the project are:

• Depression screening and regular tracking of PHQ-9 scores
• Care management (a central component of the IMPACT and DIAMOND models) which includes routine follow-up, education and support, treatment adherence and side effect management, and increasing patient skills in goal setting, behavioral activation and self-management of their depression.
• Systematic approach for intervention changes when there is inadequate treatment response.

The National Council’s Depression Care Collaborative is a year-long learning project involving five community behavioral health organizations chosen through a competitive application process. Chosen sites participate in monthly all-site conference calls, submit monthly progress and data reports for discussion during conference calls, and receive expert consultation from the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI).

Class of 2011

• Community Network Services - Farmington, MI
• Directions for Mental Health, Inc. - Clearwater, FL
• Jefferson Center for Mental Health - Wheat Ridge, CO
• Preferred Behavioral Health of New Jersey - Brick, NJ
• WellSpring Resources - Alton, IL

Faculty

• Pam Pietruszewski, Health Care Consultant, Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement
• Nancy Jaeckels, Vice President & Chief Consultant, Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement

Collaborative Materials 

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

Press Release: National Council Launches Project to Improve Depression Treatment