Payer Donates to Expand Mental Health Treatment Training for Providers

Aetna Better Health of Kentucky announced it will put $380,000 toward a mental health training program for providers to help them support members with adverse childhood events and traumas.

Specifically, the funds will support an organization that works on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for patients who have experienced trauma.

“EMDR and other trauma therapies serve a critical purpose for Kentucky youth enrolled in the state’s Supporting Kentucky Youth (SKY) program, as it can help shatter cycles of abuse, poverty and poor mental and physical health,” said Paige Mankovich, chief executive officer of Aetna Better Health of Kentucky.

“As the managed care organization for SKY, we’ve witnessed, on many occasions, the trauma these children have had to carry on their own, coping with symptoms instead of being able to heal the problem. That’s why we’re diligent about sourcing the best trainings and education opportunities for everyone, from clinicians and social workers to foster parents and care managers.”

Healing TREE aims to make EMDR therapy more accessible. The program also uses film, theater, and television to address adverse childhood experiences.

“It’s imperative that as many clinicians as possible can provide this therapy, and we’re thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with Healing TREE to make that a reality,” Mankovich added.

Aetna’s donation will go toward improving access to care for members and access to EMDR training for providers. The avenues to EMDR training and therapy have been restricted due to the procedure’s cost.

The payer noted the high demand for therapy that addresses childhood trauma and noted that adverse childhood experiences are often linked to mental health challenges, chronic disease, and substance abuse.

“There are so many people living with the devastating effects of unhealed trauma,” said Marissa Ghavami, founder and executive + artistic director of Healing TREE.

“While EMDR is proven to significantly heal the parts of the brain affected by trauma, many clinicians are unable to provide EMDR therapy because its intensive training process tends to be cost-prohibitive. We’re honored and deeply appreciative for this donation that will enable us to expand our training across the state to clinicians who serve marginalized populations.” 

The escalation of mental health challenges among adolescents led Aetna to take action in a number of ways.

The payer announced new steps the payer planned to pursue in order to lower suicide rates among adolescents through its Psych Hub program. The program offers provider education through the Adolescent Treatment Training Series. It provides learning modules that include how to support therapy for high-risk communities like LGBTQ+ youth.

The Psych Hub program leverages a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

A couple of months after the Pscyh Hub announcement, in September 2022, CVS Health announced that its payer arm was making good progress on its goal to reduce suicide rates among Aetna members by 20 percent by 2025, but found that the suicide rate among adolescent Aetna members was lagging. While the overall suicide rate dropped by 15.7 percent when compared to 2019, individuals between the ages of 13 and 17 saw higher numbers of suicide attempts, jumping 43 percent in 2021 and 32 percent in the first months of 2022.

Training adults to identify mental health concerns early on in adolescents is a crucial way that communities can address adverse events and mental illness. Outside of providers, Aetna has found that educators and parents can also be important resources for children who are experiencing mental health needs.