ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the ability to rapidly establish rapport with patients is an essential skill in the practice of integrated care, and integrated behavioral health providers (IBHP) must utilize all resources at their disposal to do so. It considers the clinical interview as it applies to primary care behavioral health models that tend to have the largest array of opportunities for the IBHP to interact with patients, primary care providers (PCP), and other primary care team members. The chapter offers the complexities of interviewing patients in a fast-paced, collaborative primary care environment. It highlights M. Robinson and J. Reiter's Behavioral Health Consultant and emphasizesthe IBHP's role as a consultant to the PCP in addition to meeting the needs of patients. In mental health interviewing, establishing rapport is the prioritized goal. The mental health interview therefore emphasizes interpersonal warmth and a conversational tone that is intended to put the patient at ease.
