BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AIDE PROGRAM
The pacific northwest has created a culturally-specific Behavioral Health Aide Education Program.
Gathering of NW Elders, Knowledge Holders & Culture Keepers
The Behavioral Health Aide Program (BHAP) at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) would like to invite and welcome elders, knowledge holders, and culture keepers to join us in providing support to Behavioral Health Aides (BHAs) working in their Tribal communities. It is our intent to create a community of support for our BHAs to assist in their learning journey as they begin to provide behavioral health and prevention services within our communities.
We are seeking your wisdom, leadership, and experience to help guide how BHAs learn, share, and sustain culture within their communities. During these gatherings, we hope to weave your Indigenous ways of knowing with students in the development of the education curriculum. Students and mentors will share in this learning journey using this knowledge to 1) increase access to quality behavioral healthcare, and 2) help create a wraparound system of care that is unique to their tribes and communities. These Gatherings will soon be on Indian Country ECHO platforms, which will feature didactics and case presentations for BHAs. If you would like to learn more, please visit here.
If you are interested in being a mentor for a BHA, please fill out this Interest Form.
The Behavioral Health Aide Program’s Advisory Workgroup awarded the Pacific Northwest Tribes artwork to Corey Begay (Dine’). Corey is a talented graphic designer and artist. He currently works with the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board’s Adolescent Behavioral Health Program as a multi-media artist where he curate’s graphics, campaigns, and logos for projects We R Native, THRIVE, and many others. He is well-respected and a well networked artist throughout Indian Country. This beautiful branding signifies the strength of our leadership and our students in a healthy direction for future endeavors.
Pacific Northwest Tribes
The meaning/story behind the logo design I have created was to encompass representation from the Northwest tribes in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Let’s start from the bottom, I created roots as a visual to represent the high plains tribes for food, medicine, and many other things. The next layer up is water from the major rivers to the smaller rivers and water sources throughout the Northwest giving life to many things including salmon. The three salmon inside the water I wanted it to represent the three states as well. Third is the land, a resource for tools, travel, material, etc. and has provided Northwest tribes with everything needed to carry on life, culture, and wellness. The baskets are a small representation of that as they are viewed under the trees. Lastly is the eagle, the eagle blesses our paths, our travels, and our lifestyles to keep us going in a healthy direction. Within the illustration the eagle is overlooking all of the other elements and continues to bless the land.
- Corey Begay
History of BHAs
The Behavioral Health Aide (BHA) Program grew out of Alaska’s statewide “counselor-in-every village” initiative to provide behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery services in rural Alaska. The BHA program was founded by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) in 2009 and modeled after the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP), which was established to assess and provide emergent, acute, and chronic medical care to residents in rural communities. For more information on Alaska’s BHA Program click the Learn More button below.