CRCBH Research Efforts
Pueblo of San Felipe Children’s Mental Health Systems Development Project
Increasing access to mental health care.
Principle Investigator: Kristen Orestevich Ph.D.
Lead Contact: Deborah Altschul, Ph.D.
Funding Source: SAHMSA
Goal: To increase access to mental health care by removing barriers, optimizing mental health and
substance abuse services for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances
(SED), insuring culturally appropriate care, and developing a seamless delivery system with other
providers using SOC model. The CRCBH will conduct a needs assessment of current services,
and lead the project evaluation.
Strengthening Native Families
Expanding behavioral health services to youth and families on the Santa Clara Pueblo
Principal Investigator: Lt. Governor Stanley Tafoya
Lead Contact: Deborah Altschul, Ph.D.
Funding Source: SAMHSA
Goal: To evaluate the implementation of an expansion and enhancement of the behavioral health
services in Santa Clara Pueblo through the development of a mobile team that delivers
home-based behavioral health services(alcohol, substance abuse, and mental health treatment)
to Santa Clara Pueblo families.
Early Assessment and Resource Linkage for Youth (EARLY)
Reducing the incidence of psychotic illness in young people.
Principal Investigator: Steven Adelsheim, M.D.
Lead Contact: Steven Adelsheim, M.D
Funding Source: Mind Research Network
Goal: The EARLY program is a treatment and research initiative with the mission of reducing the
incidence of psychotic illness (such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) in young people
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A partnership between the Mind Research Network and the University
of New Mexico, Center for Rural and Community Behavioral Health, Department of Psychiatry
EARLY provides education and treatment for young people and their families, and conducts
research about the benefits of early identification and intervention for psychosis related symptoms.
Rural Residency Evaluation
Assessing satisfaction in UNM Department of Psychiatry's Rural Residency Program
Principal Investigator: Helene Silverblatt, M.D.
Lead Contact: Helene Silverblatt, M.D
Funding Source: Partial Behavioral Health Services Division Funds used.
Goal: To assess participant satisfaction associated with being a resident in UNM Department of
Psychiatry’s Rural Residency Program. To learn from graduates of the program what are the
incentives and barriers to practicing psychiatry in rural/frontier New Mexico, and how the
program addresses—and could address better—these issues.
Cultural Competency Focus Groups
How is cultural competency currently integrated into behavioral health
services in New Mexico?
Principal Investigator: Deborah Altschul, Ph.D.
Lead Contact: Deborah Altschul, Ph.D.
Funding Source: State of New Mexico, Department of Health and Human Services, ValueOptions
Goal: To conduct focus groups with behavioral health providers and consumers throughout New
Mexico in an effort to ascertain from community members the ways in which cultural competency
is currently integrated into the behavioral health services throughout the state and ways in which
cultural competency could be better fostered throughout the system. Focus groups resulted in the
development of a NMIBHPC Cultural Competency Strategic Plan.