Mental health Project ECHO Autism: Increasing access to community mental health services for autistic individuals

Despite the high prevalence of co-occurring autism spectrum disorders and mental health condition(s), there exist substantial barriers to mental health treatment for autistic individuals. These barriers are exacerbated by a lack of mental health provider training and self-efficacy in providing adapted services to autistic individuals. One method which has been effective in mitigating similar service gaps is the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO) Autism model, a tele-mentoring platform that connects primary care physicians to autism spectrum disorder experts to improve physicians' knowledge, self-efficacy, and practice. This study developed and implemented a pilot mental health version of Project ECHO Autism designed to increase mental health provider knowledge, self-efficacy, and problem-solving. Community mental health providers (N = 51) participated in the 6-month Project ECHO Autism including mental health-focused didactics and provider case presentations. Analysis of pre- and post-measures revealed improvements in all domains, including significant increases in provider knowledge of autism spectrum disorders, self-efficacy, and problem-solving. Participants additionally reported high satisfaction with their experience. Taken together, preliminary results indicate that Project ECHO Autism may be a feasible, accessible, and effective method for increasing mental health provider competence and ultimately increasing access to services for autistic individuals who have co-occurring mental health diagnoses.