In response to the COVID pandemic, the Behavioral Health Institute’s Training, Workforce and Policy Innovation Center (BHI-TWP) was asked to provide technical assistance to support community-based and publicly funded behavioral health providers across the State of Washington as they quickly pivoted to providing behavioral health services over telehealth. Led by Bradford Felker MD, Cara Towle MSN, RN, and BHI-TWP Program Director Melody McKee MS, SUDP, and with guest lectures from numerous faculty and subject matter experts from PBSci, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and community leaders, these series have been immensely popular. TeleBehavioral Health 101 series focused on providing core foundational information to complete a professional mental health encounter and included a session that met Senate Bill 6061’s mandated telehealth training. To date, the 101-webinar series has been attended by more than 7,500 people, while the online version has been accessed by over 8,700. This series is attended by learners across the country and is now incorporated into required curriculum for two Master’s level counseling programs in the Midwest.

Based on the success of the 101 series, a TeleBehavioral Health 201 series was developed which focuses on additional topics such as providing telebehavioral care for specific patient populations, mHealth and behavioral health apps, and policy updates. This series was also highly successful with over 1,200 attendees from across Washington and other parts of the country. Both the 101 and the 201 series offer CME credit and CE credits for psychologists, social workers, licensed mental health counselors, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, and others.

The BHI-TWP is excited to announce the launch of TeleBehavioral Health 301 and 401 series starting in January 2022. The 301 series will focus more on how TeleBehavioral Health skills can be used to enhance the mental health care for certain populations and on developing TeleBehavioral -specific tools and protocols. The 401 series will take a deeper dive into various topics and use a panel format approach. The 401 series will bring national experts from across the country to discuss highly relevant complex issues related to designing and implementing effective TeleBehavioral Health programs. This series also offers CME credit and CE credits for psychologists, social workers, licensed mental health counselors, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, and others.