Integrated Behavioral Health Resources in Austin, TX

Settings in Austin, TX

The following is a list of places that provide integrated behavioral health services, meaning that they include services across multiple types of physical and mental health providers. Across settings that might be considered integrated, some settings are more or less effective in accomplishing integration. This means that some systems might be better than others at having medical providers (such as doctors or nurses) coordinate with other mental health providers (such as social workers, psychologists, or counselors) in order to help patients.

  • Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) receive federal funding and so have a unique mission to serve people who might not otherwise have financial access to healthcare services. FQHCs typically complete financial assessments to determine whether or not an individual can pay for services, but, by law, they must provide services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. Additionally, federal laws like the Affordable Care Act provided additional funding to health care centers that became “integrated,” meaning that they offer services related to mental health as well as physical health. FQHCs local to the Austin, TX area are listed below, while FQHCs in other areas are searchable here. Each of the below provide primarily medical care to adolescents, children, and families, including specialized programs for women’s health and prenatal care, but also often have mental health care professionals embedded who work alongside physical healthcare providers. Each also includes several clinic locations.
  • Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHAs) and Local Behavioral Health Authorities (LBHAs) are funded by Texas Health and Human Services (HHS), a state governmental agency that oversees various publicly available programs for Texans, including programs aimed at increasing access to food and paying for medical services. Each LMHA or LBHA serves only a certain set of Texas counties. Here you can find a list to all Texas LMHAs and LBHAs as well as the counties they serve. Below are the LMHAs that serve the counties around Austin, TX:
  • Ascension Seton Medical System –  A large national medical system with multiple different specialties and types of clinics. Local institutions associated with this medical system include Dell Children’s Medical Center.
  • Austin Recovery Network – Aims at addressing the needs of individuals who have experienced addiction and their families. Includes several programs such as:
    • The Austin Recovery Family House – a program for moms and their children under the age of 6 to live and recover from addiction
    • University High School – a school for teens and young adults recovering from addiction
    • Intensive Outpatient services – daytime treatment for people recovering from addiction
    • Keystone Alternative Peer Group – Peer-led after school activities for teens recovering from addiction. Parent and family groups are also available
  • Veteran’s Health Administration – The Veteran’s Administration provides services for those who have served in the military and their family. These services typically include both physical and mental health needs.
  • Children’s and Family Wellness Centers – These two clinics were developed as a collaboration between the University of Texas School of Nursing and Del Valle Independent School District to increase access to healthcare for local children and families.
  • Child Psychiatry Access Network (CPAN) and Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) Program – The Texas state legislature passed several funding measures in order to increase access to children in Texas with various mental health needs. Through these bills, different regions in Texas constitute “catchment areas” associated with their most local Academic Medical Centers. The TCHATT program partners with school liaisons to allow children and adolescents to have up to four appointments with mental health professionals in order to develop a plan of care to assist a given child’s mental health needs. After seeing the mental health professional, care coordinators help to provide a family with appropriate referrals and ensure that families are able to access those referrals after receiving them. The CPAN program partners with local pediatricians and other medical professionals to offer consulting around mental health problems with a team of experts.