Welcome

The Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy (PBHJP) is a component of The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Washington School of Medicine. The Division has a wide range of academic, clinical, research, and policy activities. The Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Training (WIMHRT) and The Washington State Children’s Evidence Based Practice Institute (EBPI) are both major programs managed by the PBHJP.

Academic training of psychiatrists and psychologists whose career goals are focused on clinical or policy positions in public behavioral health are implemented through a Leadership Track for psychiatry residents and post doctoral training for psychologists. Faculty University based courses are being developed to enhance the skill set in evidence based practices of graduate students in social work, psychology, psychiatry, and nursing.

The Division supports a number of clinical research based programs for youth with co-occurring disorders and involvement with the juvenile justice system as well as programs for children with behavioral disorders who are involved with the child welfare system. Faculty provides clinical consultation to a number of juvenile justice facilities as well as programs that support families whose children are in foster care children and exhibit serious emotional disorders. The Division is a network partner with Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST) Associates and provides consultation and training to a number of MST programs locally and nationally.

Research activities are supported through a number of NIMH projects as well as grants from the MacArthur Foundation and Paul Allen Foundation. In addition significant resources are allocated through contracts with Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and The Washington State Legislature.

Projects range from adaptations of Multi-Systemic Therapy (Family Integrated Treatment-FIT) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT)  to the development of fidelity measures for Wraparound and PACT programs. In the early childhood area faculty are engaged in assessing strategies to prevent children at risk for expulsion from day care settings as well as evaluating the outcome of providing pediatricians with mental health consultation in order to improve effective psychosocial and psychopharmacologic interventions. Systems change research programs target improving communities' capacity to engage parents and youth as partners in improving clinical and system outcomes as well as working with stakeholders to implement and sustain evidence based practices with a particular emphasis on cultural adaptations in Latino and Native American communities.

Division faculty work closely with legislators and other policy makers in the development of policy and legislation in all areas of behavioral health, juvenile justice and child welfare.