arissaArissa Walberg, PhD, MS, joins CWFM’s Behavioral Health Team as its new behavioral health consultant

YAKIMA, WA – Central Washington Family Medicine (CWFM), a service of Community Health of Central Washington (CHCW), is pleased to announce that it has added Arissa Walberg, PhD, MS, to its behavioral health team as the organization’s new behavioral health consultant and residency faculty.

Dr. Walberg holds doctoral and master’s degrees in counseling psychology from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.  She conducted her post-doctoral residency in primary care behavioral health at the Multnomah County Health Department, School-based Health Centers.  In addition, she completed a pre-doctoral clinical psychology internship in  integrated care at the Nebraska Consortium of Professional Psychology, which included placements at the Munroe Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical School, and the Department of Family Medicine, Creighton University School of Medicine, in Omaha, NE.

Dr. Walberg is responsible for addressing behavioral aspects of health through collaboration with the medical team and direct patient services. This includes developing specific behavior change plans for patients and behavioral health protocols for target populations, as well as providing recommendations for addressing things such as stress management and emotional health that impact patient health and quality of life.  She serves as part of the primary care treatment team which identifies, triages, and manages patients with medical and behavioral health problems within the primary care setting.

“As primary care has become a gateway for many individuals with behavioral health and primary care needs, we continue to grow our healthcare model to address those needs by integrating behavioral health care services into our clinical settings,” says Mike Maples, MD, CEO, Community Health of Central WA.  “The addition of Arissa to our behavioral health service team is critical during this phase of growth and development.”

About Community Health of Central Washington

Community Health of Central Washington (CHCW) is a nonprofit organization providing high quality, affordable primary health care, dental and mental health services to area residents.  CHCW provides services to more than 25,000 people annually through six locations, without regard to income and ability to pay.  Headquartered in Yakima, CHCW centrally provides supervision, technical support, fiscal services, planning and human resources for the following sites and services: Central Washington Family Medicine, Central Washington Family Residency Program, Senior and Residential Care (SRCare), Senior Smiles, Yakima Pediatric Associates, Community Health of Central Washington – Ellensburg, Ellensburg Dental Clinic, Naches Medical Clinic, and Highland Clinic.  For more information, visit www.chcw.org.