Children’s & Women’s Health
Thrive Center for Children, Families, & Communities
With rigorous research and authentic family partnership, the Family Mental Health Demonstration Project is exploring how embedding mental health screening and family support into pediatric primary care can drive sustainable health systems change.
Across four health systems, the integrated behavioral health models connect families with early mental health intervention while gathering evidence on what works-and equally important, enlisting families as co-researchers and decision-makers throughout.
Through a carefully developed survey, qualitative interviews, and structured family advisory councils, we're building evidence that will reshape how pediatric practices screen for and treat mental health concerns, how Medicaid reimburses preventive family services, and how research can authentically center family expertise. The result: stronger family functioning, reduced costs for health systems, and a replicable blueprint for integrating mental health into routine pediatric care with family voice at the center of it all.
“This project resets how we think about measuring the impact of interventions to support childhood mental health: rather than focusing solely on the child, we are expanding the focus to include a relational focus on the entire family. We ask families vital questions about their relationships, stress, health goals, and the mental health of every member of the family unit, in order to test our hypothesis that interventions that support the entire family will improve outcomes for both children and parents, while returning greater return on investment to our health systems.”
—Matthew Biel, MD, MSc, Director, Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities
Elizabeth Demeusy Patel, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Dr. Matthew Biel, MD, MSc
Director
Lisa Hepburn, MPH, PhD
Lead Evaluator
Stephanie Mitchell, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Ashley James-Barnett, MS, CPH, Program Specialist
Paula Cortez Campos, BS
Project Researcher
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