Exploring core competencies for mental health and addictions work within a Family Health Team setting.

Approximately 200 Family Health Teams (FHTs) have been implemented in Ontario to improve access to primary healthcare, including mental health and addiction. The objectives of this project were to examine, through a focus group and qualitative methodology with three FHTs, the profile of patients' mental health and addiction-related needs and to identify the implications for the development of core competencies in these innovative organisations. A spectrum of needs and service trajectories was identified, as well as the importance of a wide range of clinical skills and knowledge.

Integrating mental health services within primary care settings: the Hamilton Family Health Team.

For 16 years, the Hamilton Family Health Team Mental Health Program has successfully integrated mental health counselors, addiction specialists, child mental health professionals, and psychiatrists into 81 offices of 150 family physicians in Hamilton, Ontario. Maximising the potential of a "shared care" model requires changes within the primary care setting, to support the addition of mental health and addiction professionals, active involvement of primary care staff in managing mental health problems of patients, and collaborative practice. This coordinated effort allow mental health treatment through onsite support from a mental health team and supplants the need to refer most patients to the mental health setting.