This brief discusses the impact that opioid use disorder has on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. It will highlight best practices, trauma-informed care and behavioral health integration into primary care.
Search Results for: behavioral health
Jane Powers, LICSW
Jane Powers, MSW, LICSW was Director of Behavioral Health at Fenway Health from 2013-2017 and continues to provide strategic oversight and supervision to the department; after briefly serving as interim CEO of Fenway in December 2017, Jane became Fenway’s interim Chief of Staff in late January 2018.
Addressing Eating Disorders, Body Dissatisfaction, and Obesity Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people experience higher rates of eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, and obesity compared to the general population. In this clinical brief, primary care and behavioral health providers will discover how these issues manifest in different subgroups of SGM adolescents and young adults, and will learn ways to address these conditions using affirming and effective treatments.
Providing Care for Addictions in the LGBT Community
LGBT people have disproportionately high prevalence of substance use disorders compared with the general population. This higher prevalence of addictions is viewed as a downstream consequence of pervasive minority stress that occurs in the context of stigma-related discrimination and victimization. Substance use among LGBT people is often a coping strategy for trauma-related symptoms and can be associated with poor self-care, including compromised engagement in care for HIV treatment and prevention. In this webinar, Alex S. Keuroghlian, MD, MPH, will discuss a minority stress framework for understanding substance use disorders in the LGBT community, describe how to tailor evidence-based addictions treatment practices for LGBT patients, and present systems-level approaches for health centers to better address substance use disorders, including the opioid epidemic, among LGBT people through behavioral health integration.
- Filed under
- Behavioral Health
- Organizational Change
Implementing Routine Intimate Partner Violence Screening in a Primary Care Setting
Domestic violence or intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant social and health concern, resulting in 5.8 billion dollars in medical costs annually. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends IPV screening for women of childbearing age, and screening interventions tested among women show that those who talk to their health provider about partner violence are four times more likely to use intervention services. Additionally, research shows that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) experience IPV at rates similar to or higher than heterosexual women. This webinar will identify unique features of intimate partner violence among LGBT-identified people and describe barriers to accessing support services. Dr. Jennifer Potter, the Medical Director of the Women’s Health Department at Fenway Health; Cara Presley, LICSW, the Director of the Violence Recovery Program in the Behavioral Health Department at Fenway Health; and Catherine Basham, Family Health Coordinator at Fenway Health, will describe a universal IPV screening intervention that has been successfully implemented at an LGBT-focused community health center. This systems based screening strategy includes: 1) staff training; 2) administration of a gender-neutral screening survey; 3) implementation of electronic health record reminders and forms to promote effective documentation/tracking; and 4) creation of a referral process to reliably connect patients to violence recovery and prevention services.
- Filed under
- Behavioral Health
Issues in Same-Sex Domestic Violence: Considerations, Suggestions, and Resources
According to a recent national survey, LGBT people experience domestic violence at least as commonly as heterosexual women, contradicting common misperceptions that men cannot be victims of abuse, and women cannot perpetrate abuse. This webinar, led by Jessica Newman and Cara Presley-Kimball of Fenway Health’s Violence Recovery Program, explains the unique features of same-sex domestic violence as well as the benefits of screening LGBT patients. Participants will also learn to identify barriers that LGBT victims and survivors of domestic violence face when accessing health care, legal protection, and safe shelters. There is also a brief overview of the Violence Recovery Program at Fenway Health, a unique model program that is integrated into the behavioral health department of a community health center.
Caring for LGBT Older Adults
This module aims to bring recognition to the presence of LGBT elders (age 65+), a group which is often overlooked. The module illustrates the unique medical, psychological, and social service needs of LGBT older adults, and gives recommendations for how clinicians can adequately address the needs of this group.
Kevin Kapila, MD
Dr. Kevin Kapila has been a primary care provider at Fenway Health since 2002 and the Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Fenway since 2005. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry and a HIV certified specialist through the American Academy of HIV Medicine.
Emilia Dunham
Emilia Dunham is the Director of Health and Justice Policy and Programs at MassHealth, leading Massachusetts’ implementation of approved pre-releases for members returning from correctional Institutions. At MassHealth, Ms. Dunham led the development and implementation of the pilot and the following statewide reentry initiative Behavioral Health Supports for Justice Involved Individuals (BH-JI). Ms. Dunham has worked to successfully expand Medicaid covered services for populations experiencing homelessness and justice involvement for MassHealth managed care and fee-for-service members. Prior to MassHealth, Ms. Dunham was a Project Manager at The Fenway Institute of Fenway Health in Boston. At Fenway, Ms. Dunham managed behavioral health studies and coordinated policy efforts for LGBTQ populations. Additionally, Ms. Dunham obtained a Master’s in Business Administration and Master’s of Public Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.
Bisola Ojikutu, MD MPH
Bisola Ojikutu MD MPH is an infectious disease physician who has dedicated her career to overcoming racial and ethnic inequity experienced by people living with or at risk for HIV. Dr. Ojikutu is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Global and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Physician within the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is also a faculty member within the Infectious Disease Divisions at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospitals. Her research explores the impact of structural factors and norms/beliefs (e.g. racism/discrimination, immigration, medical mistrust, homonegativity) on HIV transmission and use of biomedical HIV prevention.
