Child mental health in an HMO. A family systems approach

HMOs have been growing at a rapid rate with increasing numbers of people receiving mental health services within this system of care. Among those people are children who represent a significant proportion of HMO members. The goal of providing high quality, cost-efficient mental health services to children and families in a staff model HMO represents a challenge and opportunity for the mental health practitioner. A family systems model is described for providing mental health treatment for children's problems in the HMO. Clinical vignettes from the author's practice are presented illustrating time-efficient principles of systems psychotherapy in this setting.