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Indiana Behavioral Health Access Program for Youth

The Indiana Behavioral Health Access Program for Youth ("Be Happy") within Indiana University School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry is an innovative new child psychiatry access program for pediatric primary care providers. The program aims to improve Hoosier families’ access to best practice pediatric behavioral health care across the state by supporting health care providers in their local communities with guidance from psychiatric specialists.

For Providers

How to Enroll

Primary care providers who treat children and adolescents in Indiana can enroll by registering and completing the participation agreement.

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Be Happy offers the following services at no cost to providers

Board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists consult with community based providers to help with assessment, diagnostic clarification, medication management, treatment planning and other pediatric mental health questions.

Staff will assist with finding the most appropriate evidence-based treatment programs available in a patient’s local community.

The program offers additional training opportunities through webinars and free continuing medical education (CME) events.

Be Happy now offers therapy and assessment services

Be Happy's direct patient services may be accessed after the primary care provider completes an initial consultation with one of our Be Happy psychiatrists.

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

  • Dialectic Behavioral Therapy

  • Parent Management Training

Contact

For provider-to-provider consultations with pediatric behavioral health specialists, call the provider line at 317-278-7700 (weekdays, 9am-5 pm).

Not intended for use by families.

Quick Facts

This program is available to all health care professionals (including physicians, nurse practitioners, psychologists, nurses, social workers, etc.) in the state of Indiana who work with youth and families.

Most calls are answered live, but all calls will be returned within 30 minutes. Once the need of the call is identified, the specialist will inform the caller of the follow-up time. Psychiatrists can be paged immediately and will often return calls within an hour and resources and referrals can be identified in real time. Most consultations should be concluded within the business day.

No, the psychiatrist can provide information and guidance but the primary care physician will continue to provide care to their patient. If ongoing care is needed, the physician can make a referral to appropriate medication management facilities in their area. The psychiatrist can provide ongoing consultation regarding a case, if needed.

Unfortunately, at this time the program is not providing in-person sessions with families. The program is currently a resource for physicians to support them in linking their patients to appropriate behavioral health services and psychiatric care.

The program is not able to provide speedier access to Riley Hospital for Children programs.

Yes, the Be Happy program is able to provide a primary care doctor training in a specific assessment area. The program may also be available to provide the practice with an in-service if a need is identified. The program is able to share assessment tools that would be easy for physicians to use in everyday practice and provide consultations around these assessment tools.

No, this program is designed as a consultation service that supports primary care providers in managing the care of their patients. If someone is interested in accessing Riley Hospital for Children’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry clinical services, please call 317-944-8162.

If a patient is currently in crisis or imminent danger, call 911. If a patient is not in imminent danger, program consultants are available to discuss best practices for treatment and support.

Yes, any clinic staff member may call to set up a consultation. Please be sure the caller is able to provide information about provider availability for follow-up, as well as key information about the case to guide the consultation or referrals.

Be Happy is provided at no cost to providers thanks to generous support from the IU Health Values Program, IU School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, and Indiana FSSA Division of Mental Health and Addictions.

For additional information, please contact the project coordinator at behappy@iu.edu.

News about Be Happy

$2.7M grant will help pediatric primary-care providers address youth mental health needs

Thanks to $2.7 million in recent grants, the Indiana University School of Medicine's Indiana Behavioral Health Access Program for Youth will be able to help more children and families facing mental health challenges.

December 16, 2021

a provider works with parents on a care plan
Indiana Health

Bridging the gap between primary care and mental health

Currently, Indiana ranks 48th in the U.S. in availability of child psychiatrists. The Indiana Behavioral Health Access Program for Youth gives local primary care providers guidance from psychiatric specialists to improve Hoosier families' access to pediatric behavioral health.