3 Medical Specialties Perfect for Behavioral Health Collaboration

This is an exclusive BHB+ story

About a month ago, I was talking to a source who told me psychiatrists and therapists rarely speak to each other. As absurd as that is, with these two specialties so closely aligned and no discourse, it got me thinking: What other specialties should really be brought into the behavioral health fold? 

There are so many touch points in the medical world that can uproot your life and overall behavioral health. For some, it’s having a baby; for others, it could be a cancer diagnosis, living with diabetes, or even reaching puberty.

The funny thing about care integration is that it has almost universal buy-in from health care providers. However, despite all the enthusiasm, true care integration remains frustratingly rare in practice.

Integration could be beneficial for the three main health care stakeholders: payers, providers and patients. For payers, care integration could drive down costs. For providers, it could set up a reliable referral stream. And for patients, it can lead to better outcomes. 

In this exclusive BHB+ Update, I explore:

— Three areas of specialty care ready for behavioral health integration

— The benefits of integration to behavioral health providers and their physical health counterparts

— The business case for care integration 

Oncology integration

A cancer diagnosis can impact a patient’s overall behavioral health. A third of all oncology patients have a behavioral health diagnosis, according to Translational Psychiatry.

Getting patients with an oncology diagnosis into mental health services can help improve outcomes and drive down costs. According to a report from the Evernorth Research Institute, cancer patients who don’t receive outpatient behavioral health services are twice as likely to have an avoidable emergency room visit as those who do.

Still, the needs of oncology patients are unique. Some providers are seeing this as an opportunity to tailor their care to this population.

For example, in 2024, virtual mental health and addiction care provider Forge Health expanded its oncology program to address the needs of patients undergoing oncology treatment.

“There are unique stressors and unique distresses that people experience as they go through cancer,” Dr. Guy Maytal, chief of integrated care and psychiatric services for Forge Health, told BHB in a podcast episode last year. “But there is a particular knowledge and skill set that is required to address those issues that people deal with, whether they’re psychological, whether they’re social, whether they’re in the realm of communication with other people in your life or with your medical team.”

White Plains, New York-based Forge Health is a hybrid care provider that treats mental health and substance use disorders. It has raised more than $22 million.

While some large medical institutions integrate services – for example Rush University Medical Center – that integrate behavioral health services into the oncology model, these types of programs are few and far between.

“I wish it was commonplace,” Maytal said. “It’s actually very pretty difficult to get services of this sort. There are a few institutions – kind of flagship, world-class cancer centers – that do this well. But in most places, if you have anything, it is usually very, very insufficient.”

But it’s not as easy as a behavioral health provider suddenly partnering with an oncology provider. To provide these services, it would also require clinical education.

Yet this could be an area where mental health providers could do a lot of good and make a meaningful impact. 

Women’s health positioned for mental health integration 

I’ve lost count of the rooms where I’ve had to bite my tongue when women’s health gets dismissed as a “niche sub-sector.”

Women make up 50.9% of the U.S. population, making us the majority, mainly due to the fact we live longer than men. 

Major transitions punctuate a woman’s life: Some may experience fertility struggles, pregnancy, miscarriage, perimenopause, menopause, and loss of a spouse or a friend. Many of these changes include a trip to the OB/GYN office. 

There is a significant opportunity for behavioral health providers to collaborate with health care providers to assist women in navigating some of these challenges. Many big-name providers in the space have already seen the opportunity.

For example, LifeStance (Nasdaq: LFST) and Talkspace (Nasdaq: TALK) have both inked deals with women’s health companies to help patients navigate the challenges of menopause. In 2023, LifeStance announced it would team up with Gennev to boost women’s health care integration.

“Menopause impacts the mind and body,” Dr. Anisha Patel-Dunn, LifeStance’s former chief medical officer, told me a few years ago. “For us, it’s a really great partnership of synergy, in us being able to provide that outpatient mental health care for the women who are going to Gennev for menopause care.”

LifeStance was founded in 2017 and is the largest outpatient behavioral health provider in the country. The publicly traded company offers virtual and in-person care.

Due to recent high-profile cases of postpartum mental health crises, women’s health providers are now being asked to do more when it comes to caring for behavioral health. However, research reveals that the vast majority of OB/GYNs are not confident in providing mental health advice to patients.

As a result, providers have zeroed in on the fertility, pregnancy and postpartum period. It’s a place where there is a significant need. Approximately 13.9% have postpartum depression (PPD), and 17% have postpartum anxiety.

Several digital health companies have sprouted up in this space. For example, Memora Health is a virtual care company dedicated to enhancing postpartum mental health. Additionally, Seven Starling recently raised $12.6 million to help women through their fertility journey.

I foresee partnerships between behavioral health organizations and women’s health providers growing, and savvy providers will be quick to establish these referral partnerships.

The opportunity of pediatrics partnerships

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the pediatric mental health crisis has come into the spotlight. Today, roughly 1 in 7 children have a mental health condition, according to the CDC.

The good news is more than half of teens in the U.S. reported discussing their mental and emotional health with a health care provider, according to the CDC.

Still, pediatric providers often report difficulties in finding a behavioral health clinician for their patients. One of the main reasons is because of the long waitlists that pediatric providers often experience. 

Many provider groups are looking to pediatricians as key partners in growing their practices and meeting the needs of the population that requires services. Pediatric virtual provider Fort Health has made pediatric partnerships a core part of its business model. It has integrated with more than 450 primary care providers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania through a deal with provider group Advocare. 

Some providers are even offering both physical and mental health integration in one place. For example, Boston-based Bluebird Kids Health recently raised a $31.5 million funding round to deliver its integrated physical and mental health services.

Pediatric practices is another place where women’s behavioral health services could integrate. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends that pediatricians screen for postpartum depression at baby wellness checks. Pediatricians are well-positioned to conduct these screens, as they are often the provider with the most touch points with parents after a baby is born. However, maternal mental health is not in the traditional scope of care for pediatricians. Therefore, it’s important to have supportive handoffs if a parent screens positive.