Innovative Workforce Development and Training Solutions Meet Urgent Behavioral Health Needs
March 4, 2025
Recognizing growing global mental health needs, leaders and clinicians at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have spent the past several years designing tailored workforce development and continuing professional education services for organizations outside of their institutions to help address the urgent demand for behavioral and mental health care.
“We have seen significant growth in demand for behavioral and mental health care, at a time when the projected national workforce shortages in our field risk widening gaps in care capacity and hence access,” said Scott L. Rauch, MD, president and psychiatrist in chief, McLean Hospital, and chair of Mass General Brigham (MGB) Behavioral and Mental Health (BMH).
“The tremendous depth and breadth of expertise across MGB Behavioral and Mental Health—including academic medical centers, specialty hospitals, and community hospitals—enable us to help address this crisis, enhance care, and expand access, even beyond the extensive direct care we provide,” said Rauch.
“We are thrilled to team with other leading-edge organizations who share our commitment to answering these pressing needs.”
Shared Missions Enhance Care and Access
With an estimated one in five U.S. adults experiencing a mental health condition, the needs are urgent. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, fewer than half of these individuals receive treatment, and the average delay between the onset of mental health symptoms and treatment is 11 years.
“The need for a health care workforce that can provide specialized care cannot be met by our current approaches and infrastructure,” said Ipsit Vahia, MD, chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at McLean Hospital.
“Moreover, in our hyperconnected world, it is no longer enough for the expertise that resides at McLean and MGB Behavioral and Mental Health to be available only to those who can travel to our facilities,” continued Vahia.
“Through strategic relationships, we are helping to create the workforce needed for quality care, while also expanding our impact to reach a global audience. This is at the heart of our mission and aligned with our reputation for innovation.”
These relationships include in-person workshops, virtual training, follow-up consultations, and more, all tailored to the clinical delivery models of partner organizations.
Unmet needs have created barriers to care across populations, particularly for older adults, the fastest-growing age demographic in our country.
“Our geriatric psychiatry inpatient, outpatient, and diagnostic services, like those around the country, are often at capacity with waitlists,” said Marie Clouqueur, LICSW, program director of GUIDE and Caregiver Services at McLean Hospital. “By forming these partnerships, we use the expertise from our clinical work to train a larger workforce, which increases capacity to meet demands.”
Valued Relationships Advance Groundbreaking Models of Care
For over four years, Catharyn Gildesgame, MBA, executive director of Business, Product, and Market Development for MGB BMH, has led efforts to create innovative collaborations between McLean Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and organizations with aligned missions, leveraging clinical and research expertise to meet the unique needs of the populations they serve.
“This work is essential to addressing the growing demand for behavioral and mental health care,” said Gildesgame.
“By partnering with organizations that share our mission and values, we extend the reach of our clinical and research expertise to create tailored solutions that truly make a difference in communities well beyond Boston and Massachusetts.”
Recognized for their trailblazing roles, MGB BMH partners include Rippl Care, Bridges® by EPOCH, Massachusetts Councils on Aging, YMCA of the North Shore, and Amae Health.
“We Listen, Understand Each Other’s Perspectives, and Get Things Done”
Rippl, founded in Seattle just three years ago, is leading efforts to increase access to high-quality, wraparound behavioral health care for seniors, including essential supports for families and caregivers.
Co-founder and CEO Kris Engskov recalled an early meeting on the McLean campus when the startup was in its infancy. “We had an “Aha!” moment when we recognized that the combination of a young, agile new company with the most prestigious behavioral health provider in the country would be a catalyst for change, innovation, and, ultimately, care and services,” he said.
“For individuals and families impacted by dementia who are often overlooked and undervalued, we knew our partnership could create better outcomes.”
Rippl Academy, an eight-module program designed to teach in-depth specialty dementia care, was developed through this collaboration.
“It’s real-time, interactive teaching that has created a virtuous cycle,” Engskov said. “Our work with McLean has connected us with some of the smartest clinicians and researchers in the country. It enhances our Clinical Advisory Board and strengthens our recruiting efforts.”
“As a startup, Rippl attracts people who are eager to innovate and to dream big,” noted Clouqueur. “That’s something we need in dementia care.”
Reflecting on their partnership, Engskov added, “Mass General Brigham is remarkably nimble, with a successful history of working with startups. We listen, understand each other’s perspectives, and get things done.”
“It’s Fortunate When You Find a Partner Who Shares Your Passion”
Bridges® by EPOCH develops and manages assisted living communities devoted to supporting the unique needs of those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. EPOCH communities are spread throughout the Northeast, with Bridges® residences centered in New England.
“In a field subject to high national burnout rates, our relationship with McLean Hospital provides critical support for our staff,” said Alicia Seaver, vice president of Memory Care Operations, EPOCH Senior Living & Bridges® by EPOCH.
“McLean’s clinical expertise and leading research strengthen us in our mission to educate and care for individuals, families, and caregivers. It’s fortunate when you find a partner who shares your passion.”
McLean provides virtual training to frontline staff, nursing staff, and administrators at all Bridges® residences, increasing the team’s knowledge, skills, and capacity to promote a safe and engaging environment for residents.
“We were eager to partner with McLean’s renowned specialists, who clearly have an unmatched commitment to care,” Seaver said.
“One of our most important organizational goals is to educate. Through our strategic collaboration we have expanded our impact, offering in-person public speaking engagements, as well as online presentations, drawing hundreds of participants from around the globe.”
Talking about McLean and Bridges® staff interactions, Seaver noted, “Our staffs work together as a team. We are united through purpose. Our relationship with McLean is really a beautiful thing.”
Delivering Engaging, Relevant, and Immediately Applicable Resources
Massachusetts Councils on Aging (MCOA) is dedicated to nurturing and sustaining a culture of inclusion and connectedness for Massachusetts older adults. They accurately refer to their centers as not just buildings but lifelines.
To help scale their statewide efforts, McLean specialists have designed workshops on mental and behavioral conditions, as well as the health and wellness of older adults—of whom there are approximately 1.3 million in Massachusetts.
The educational sessions are offered to staff, directors, and outreach coordinators and are designed for broadscale community impact, with an emphasis on actionable takeaways. McLean is also providing follow-up virtual “drop-in consultation” to build a community of practice across MCOA and its member organizations.
Our goal is to deliver content that is readily engageable, relevant, and immediately applicable,” explained Clouqueur. “We are highly collaborative with our partners to understand their current gaps and then to address these by drawing on the appropriate experts at McLean.”
Tailoring Curriculum to Partner Needs
With headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts, YMCA of the North Shore is dedicated to supporting communities as they learn, grow, and thrive. Leaders there are partnering with McLean’s School Consultation Services to train staff who work with youth in the YMCA’s summer camp and afterschool programs.
“This has been a fantastic opportunity to partner with an organization that shares our mission and values in supporting the social-emotional development of kids,” said Maggie Gorraiz, PhD, senior clinical consultant within McLean’s Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
“We know there is a youth mental health crisis occurring, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also know only a small fraction of children and adolescents in need of services receive care. There are simply not enough providers to meet the need.”
McLean staff act as a resource, developing education and training programs that were on point for the camp staff.
Increasing Reach and Impact for Individuals Living With Severe Mental Illness
Amae Health, a psychiatry-led integrated care provider of outpatient physical and behavioral health services for people living with a severe mental illness (SMI), has a new collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to support the development of the Amae Institute for professional education for care teams providing comprehensive SMI care.
MGH clinician-researchers are providing an important contribution to the professional education program for Amae Health’s teams.
Amae’s mission is to create a new standard of care for individuals with SMI and their families using a data-driven model including psychosocial (including therapy) and medication treatment, health and wellness coaching, primary care, and recovery-oriented support.
As part of their efforts to develop a center of excellence for SMI care delivery, Amae has developed the Amae Institute in collaboration with MGH to enhance care delivery from highly trained leaders in academic medicine.
The MGH clinical educator team for the Amae Institute will be led by Corinne Cather, PhD and Kim Mueser, PhD.
Cather is the director of psychology for the MGH Psychosis Clinical and Research Center, director of the MGH Center of Excellence in Psychosocial and Systemic Treatment, and associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Mueser, a senior leader in the MGH Center of Excellence and professor of occupational therapy and psychological and brain sciences at Boston University, is world-renowned for his work developing and teaching evidence-based psychosocial treatments for SMI.
“Through this collaboration between MGH and Amae Health, we aim to deliver education and training that will empower Amae’s clinicians to provide the highest quality of care to patients with SMI,” said Cather.
“This novel partnership with MGH furthers our mission to serve as a center of excellence for SMI standardized across clinics through designing cutting-edge clinical education and treatment programs that deliver life-changing results for a chronically underserved patient population and their families,” said Co-founder and CEO Stas Sokolin.
Improving the Standard of Care for All Individuals
Mass General Brigham Behavioral and Mental Health is forging impactful collaborations with forward-thinking organizations that share its values and vision. Driven by a commitment to expanding access to quality care for underserved populations, MGB BMH is leading the way.
“We are excited to partner with an expanding network of innovative organizations to deliver greater access to evidence-based mental health care,” said Rauch. “These efforts allow us to combine expertise, resources, and innovation to create meaningful, sustainable solutions for the communities we serve.”
