Virtual Technology's Critical Role in Sustaining Coordinated Specialty Care in Texas During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This report examined challenges and adaptations to sustaining multidisciplinary team-based coordinated specialty care (CSC) for early-onset psychosis during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas.

In June 2020, team leaders from 23 Texas CSC sites participated in semistructured phone interviews about CSC implementation barriers and adaptations. Transcripts were analyzed with thematic analysis.

CSC implementation barriers included difficulty delivering critical CSC components (i.e., community education and vocational exploration) and client recruitment limitations. Virtual technology integration (i.e., texting and videoconferencing) largely sustained CSC outreach, service delivery, and client engagement. However, sites faced virtual competency and accessibility issues, exhaustion from virtual technology use, lack of structural support, and unanticipated disengagement.

The surveyed sites rapidly integrated virtual technology into CSC delivery. This integration promoted CSC engagement during the pandemic, especially in rural areas, and increased insight into what resources and policies are needed to sustain virtual technology use among community mental health providers.