Behavioral Health Care Manager Competencies for the Collaborative Care Model

For primary care practices implementing or expanding collaborative care, success depends on more than program design — it requires a workforce equipped with clear competencies and practical tools to deliver high-quality, sustainable care. Behavioral health care managers (BHCM) are central to making collaborative care work, supporting care coordination, maintaining measurement-based care workflows, collaborating with primary care providers and psychiatric consultants, and ensuring patients receive timely follow-up and evidence-based interventions.

A new training, Behavioral Health Care Manager Competencies for the Collaborative Care Model, was created in partnership between Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, West Health, and Northwestern Medicine to help care teams develop the practical skills and shared processes required to deliver high-quality collaborative care at scale.

Developed to support real-world implementation, this free, CE-accredited training reinforces the operational infrastructure required for collaborative care to succeed, including clear workflows, systematic case review processes, and structured measurement-based care practices.

What does the training include? 

The seven-module, interactive e-learning program guides participants through the core competencies, skills, and workflows needed for effective collaborative care. Each module builds progressively, moving from foundational concepts to applied practice within the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM):

• Module 1: Introduction to the Collaborative Care Model and the Behavioral Health Care Manager Role: Participants explore the mental health continuum and available treatment options, gain a clear understanding of CoCM, and examine the value of multidisciplinary teams and the distinct roles within CoCM.

• Module 2: BHCM Essentials for CoCM Workflow and Registry Use: This module outlines the core responsibilities and essential skills of the behavioral health care manager, walks through the key steps in the CoCM clinical workflow, and explains the purpose of the patient registry and its alignment with collaborative care principles.

• Module 3: Foundations of Behavioral Health in Primary Care: Participants define mental health disorders and distinguish among disorder, disease, and diagnosis; review common presentations of prevalent behavioral health conditions in primary care; and identify appropriate evidence-based treatment pathways.

• Module 4: CoCM Interventions and Team Communication: Learners examine strategies to engage patients in collaborative care, apply evidence-based behavioral interventions within CoCM, and respond effectively to behavioral health crises, including de-escalation and safety planning.

• Module 5: Collaboration, Care Planning, and Documentation: This module focuses on documentation practices that promote collaboration and compliance, differentiating between billable and non-billable BHCM activities, and reinforcing essential components of case review and relapse prevention planning.

• Module 6: Person-Centered Care: Participants define the principles of person-centered care, apply person-centered communication techniques in care planning, and explore how self-awareness strengthens patient engagement.

• Module 7: Trauma-Informed Care: The final module defines trauma and common trauma responses, reviews the principles of trauma-informed care, and equips learners to apply trauma-informed strategies that foster safety, trust, engagement, and resilience.

Across all modules, participants apply learning through case studies, practical exercises, hands-on workflow and documentation guidance, and downloadable tools that support real-world implementation.

Who should take this course? 

This training is designed for:

• Behavioral health care managers new to collaborative care or looking to strengthen foundational competencies.

• Care teams building or expanding collaborative care programs.

• Clinical leaders and implementers who support workflow design, documentation, and team-based care processes.

Access the training

The Behavioral Health Care Manager Training is now available online. Get started here.