Team-Based Management of Mental Health


Team-based management is a way to approach mental health that emphasizes the use of collaboration between professionals to offer people the best mental health care possible. This approach is client-centered and offers more services than if a person were to see only one professional. This type of care can also be referred to as a collaborative care approach. The Canadian Psychiatric Association defines this type of care as:

“Care that is delivered by providers from different specialties, disciplines, or sectors working together to offer complementary services and mutual support.”

Research has shown that many people who are referred to psychologists or psychiatrists by their family doctor do not actually follow through with the referral. However, with the team-based approach, a person would be seen by their family doctor and if their doctor believed they needed to see a mental health professional, the person could just go down the hall instead of having to wait for the referral. Close physical proximity, as well as increased communication between professionals, is beneficial to the team-based approach.

It has been shown that a team-based approach has been more effective than a non-team-based approach in regards to improving depressive symptoms and having clients follow a treatment plan.
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If you want to read more on the team-based approach, check out this APA article or this write-up from the Canadian Mental Health Commission!