Building Relationships

One aspect of MHA of Georgia's mission is to reach out to the community to educate and inform citizens about mental health issues. This February, MHA of Georgia is participating in the Georgia Free Clinic Network's 2008 Annual Conference on Building Relationships. This annual conference allows local, state, and national health care and policy leaders to share best practices, to network, and problem solve. The conference is open to anyone interested in building, strengthening and promoting the charitable clinic movement in Georgia.





The Executive Director of MHA of Georgia is speaking at the GFCN conference about Mental Healthcare in a Clinical Setting. Topics being discussed include the relationship between mental health and overall health. There are direct ties between physical and mental health and these should not be separated in practice or reimbursement. Another topic looks at the treatment for mental illness through primary care service providers. PCP's have the broadest reach among the existing public health infrastructure and are an important resource for mental health treatment. The final topic being covered is mental health services in the free clinic setting. The benefits of tele-psychiatry will be discussed. One example of a benefit is increased access to consumers in rural areas.





For more information about the GFCN annual conference please go to the Georgia Free Clinic Network website at http://www.gfcn.org/ .