Child Psychiatrist Steven Adelsheim, M.D., discussed prevention of serious mental illness, expansion of rural mental health services in Connections to Care: Developing a Mental Health Service Capacity for Youth in Rural Communities

Download the recorded webinar presentation

The TeenScreen National Center hosted a webinar on November 11, 2009 featuring Dr. Steve Adelsheim, Director for the Center for Rural and Community Behavioral Health, Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, & Family/ Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, and Medical Director/ Principal Investigator, Early Assessment and Resource Linkages for Youth program, Albuquerque, N.M.

Dr. Adelsheim’s Webinar presentation reviewed highlights from the Institute of Medicine’s 2009 report on “Preventing Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People.” He spoke about changing the approach to mental disorders, the world’s leading cause of disability, to one of health promotion and prevention by implementing screening and early intervention efforts.

Dr. Adelsheim talked about the Early Assessment and Resource Linkages for Youth (EARLY) project, a program he directs in Albuquerque that targets school personnel, community and medical personnel, and the general population to educate them about the signs of mental illness, especially the serious mental disorders of depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The EARLY program also involves screening and referral services, and treatment through multi-family groups, school/ employment support, and other evidence-based methods. He spoke of specific challenges the EARLY program faced in connecting children and adolescents with mental health services in Albuquerque. He also talked about the use of telehealth models to support rural primary care and mental health providers in school-based health centers and other health/ mental health settings.