Promoting Group Psychotherapy in Managed Care: Basic Economic Principles for the Clinical Practitioner

ABSTRACT

Knowledge of the basic economic factors underlying managed mental health care directly impacts the clinical practitioners' ability to make constructive changes in the system. To aid understanding this article introduces the managed care marketplace model, the interactive relationship between medical necessity and patient co-payment, arid demand management economics. The author encourages practitioners to develop strategies to overcome specific economic obstacles that prevent the promotion of group psychotherapy.