Behavioral Health Care Manager (BHCM)

The Behavioral Health Care Manager (BHCM) is at the heart of a strong Collaborative Care team, facilitating communication among all team members and acting as the lead contact person for the patient. Effective BHCMs support the PCP in their role by coordinating the overall treatment plan, providing brief psychotherapy proven to work in primary care, supporting medication management, alerting the PCP when the patient is not improving, and communicating with the psychiatric consultant regarding treatment changes.

Clinician at computer doing an intake with a patient.

The Behavioral Health Care Manager (BHCM) coordinates the group and ensures effective communication among team members. BHCMs are typically clinical social workers, licensed counselors, nurses, and psychologists; however, the ability to perform, assign, and plan out the tasks that need to be completed is much more important than credentials one holds. In some contexts, the BHCM may not be a licensed provider.

Behavioral Health Care Manager Trainings

The AIMS Center offers three comprehensive training programs that empower clinicians with the essential knowledge and skills to thrive as Behavioral Health Care Managers. These programs can be taken individually or as a cohesive series. When taken together, they build upon one another to deliver key insights, ensuring clinicians are fully prepared for this vital role.

Job Description

Behavioral Health Care Manager Job Description

Effective BHCMs support the PCP in their role by:

  • Participating in diagnosis and treatment planning
  • Coordinating treatment
  • Providing proactive follow-up of treatment response
  • Alerting the PCP when the patient is not improving
  • Supporting medication management
  • Facilitating communication with the psychiatric consultant regarding treatment changes
  • Offering brief counseling (using evidence-based techniques such as motivational interviewing, behavioral activation, and problem-solving treatment) 

Some BHCM duties and responsibilities can be assigned to other members of the care team. However, BHCMs on a Collaborative Care team need to build a unique set of clinical skills specific to practicing in primary care and other healthcare settings.

Caseload Guidelines

We recommend, as much as feasible, hiring BHCMs as full-time or nearly full-time staff. BHCMs who are assigned numerous other duties in a fast-paced clinic setting often fall behind on effectively managing their CoCM caseload. It may mean that the BHCM position must cover two or more smaller clinics to justify the FTE. See our caseload guidelines document for further details.

I have seen patients experience improvement in their symptoms with the combined support of their primary care doctor, psychiatric consultant, and care manager and patients regularly tell me that they appreciate being seen as a whole person, where all aspects of their health are addressed in one place.

– Monica Miller, behavioral health care manager