Innovation in behavioral health

The field of behavioral health is changing rapidly. From innovative new web applications that help people take charge of their treatment and recovery to upgraded crisis facilities that offer serene environments, we’re changing the way we care for those with mental health diagnoses. Dr. Dan Gottlieb talks about taking patient care to the next level with Arthur Evans Jr., Patricia Deegan, and Molly Kreider Viscardi.

Arthur Evans Jr., Ph.D., is the Commissioner of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS). He leads initiatives to transform how behavioral health care and intellectual disability services are delivered in the city. For information about Philadelphia’s Healthy Minds Initiative, go to http://healthymindsphilly.org/.

Patricia Deegan, Ph.D., is an independent consultant who specializes in researching and lecturing on the topic of recovery and the empowerment of people diagnosed with mental illness. She is the creator of CommonGround, a web application to support shared decision making in the psychopharmacology consultation. This month CommonGround received the Scattergood Foundation’s 2013 Innovation Award.

Molly Kreider Viscardi is a Ph.D./Master in Bioethics Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. She and three others won this year’s Penn Public Policy Challenge for the creation of re:Mind, an intervention that reminds those discharged from inpatient mental health hospitals of their follow up appointments.