Integrated Behavioral Health brings mental health and addiction care into primary care so patients get help where they already show up. The collaborative care model organizes roles, data, and workflows: universal screening for depression, anxiety, SUD, and suicide risk embedded in vitals; same-day warm handoffs to a behavioral clinician; and a registry that tracks symptoms, function, and sleep for every patient on the panel. Weekly case reviews let a consulting psychiatrist guide stepped algorithms—adjusting therapy intensity, switching or augmenting medications, and updating safety plans—so nonresponse triggers action rather than drift. If you’re comparing implementations at an integrated care conference, you’ll find visit-flow templates, EHR order sets, and payer contracts (per-member care management fees with value bonuses) that make the model financially sustainable. Equity is built in: language services, evening/weekend access, tele-options, transportation help, and cost navigation convert a positive screen into real care for people most often left behind.

Execution turns philosophy into outcomes. Behavioral clinicians deliver brief, skills-based care (CBT, MI, problem-solving) in four to eight visits, supported by digital homework that respects privacy. Primary care anchors continuity and whole-person health—blood pressure, glucose, sleep, pain—while psychiatry consults guide complex decisions and deprescribing that reduces side-effects and interactions. Crisis protocols create rapid access and mean-safety steps after any positive screen; planned follow-ups occur after discharges or medication changes. Specialty pathways adapt for perinatal, youth, or older adults; SUD pathways add low-threshold MOUD and harm-reduction. Dashboards make leadership accountable: coverage, time-to-first-visit, remissions, and disparities by language or neighborhood. Training is continuous—onboarding, observation, supervision—so fidelity stays high while burnout stays low. Finally, learning systems run PDSA cycles, publishing what changed and why, and reinvesting savings in access features. Integrated care works because it treats mental health like blood pressure: measured routinely, acted on promptly, and managed where people already receive trusted care.