A new way to close the pediatric mental health gap: Primary care and psychiatry working together

For years, pediatricians have faced a growing dilemma. Families increasingly turn to primary care for help with mental health concerns, yet many pediatricians feel underprepared, and child psychiatrists remain in short supply. More than a decade ago, University of Michigan Health tried a different approach: bringing child psychiatry directly into the pediatric medical home and embedding it into pediatric resident training. The result was the Pediatric Psychiatry Colocalized Consult Clinic (P2C3), a model designed to improve access to care while training future pediatricians to manage common mental health conditions.