The Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health program supports families affected by cancer diagnoses
A groundbreaking partnership led by Nicole Piland, Ph.D., LMFT, from Texas Tech's Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy (CMFT) program is shaping the landscape of pediatric oncology care at the University Medical Center (UMC). The CMFT program and UMC are pioneering the Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health program, which provides vital therapeutic support services to pediatric cancer patients and their families.
"The Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health program began on Sept 1, 2023, but evolved from an existing collaboration between UMC Children's Hospital and the TTU-CMFT program, along with our sister clinic, the Children's Behavioral Health Clinic (CBHC), which opened in 2019," said Piland.
The program was created to provide transformative services such as 'in clinic' bio-psycho-social-spiritual assessments for pediatric cancer patients and their families. Patients are also offered referrals to the Children's Behavioral Health Clinic (CBHC) for ongoing family therapy services. Currently, the program offers services to any immediate family member affected by their loved one's cancer journey. As the partnership grows, Dr. Piland is working on offering cancer support groups for parents, patients, and siblings.
"Patient-families will benefit from these services on a practical level in that we are bringing services directly to them ('in clinic' or the hospital), which reduces the number of appointments the families have to manage," said Piland. "On an emotional or relational level, they benefit by having a behavioral health provider who can support them through their medical crisis and help prevent the escalation of more serious emotional needs, like anxiety and depression, parent-child concerns, and marital distress from developing, if unaddressed."
The Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health program supports the entire family system and the relationship between patient and provider. Doctors and students involved in the program work to not only coordinate treatment goals but also consider family wellness every step of the way. This initiative supports CMFT doctoral students in their training and research on research related to integrated behavioral health. The goal is to aid in developing a structured screening and intervention protocol that can be implemented from diagnosis to remission.
"We anticipate that the training experience will expose doctoral students to a multi-disciplinary team approach to care, enhance assessment and referral skills development, advance their ability to provide brief, crisis intervention and bereavement support, and afford them the opportunity to join the research team for advancing best practices for the care of chronic and terminally ill patient-families," said Piland.
As the Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health program continues to grow, it represents more than a collaboration between TTU and UMC. It offers a beacon of hope for pediatric cancer patients and their families by providing them with care that goes beyond physical medical treatment and addresses the unique emotional challenges of a cancer diagnosis.