The CHAMMP Approach

At CHAMMP, we are dedicated to studying and improving access to and quality of healthcare for multiple vulnerable populations, especially those who may have been excluded from previous study, or for whom "standard care" is inadequate. Our approach emphasizes the use of behavioral health interventions that are effective across mental health, substance use, and medical diagnoses and that target the common social and psychological issues facing disadvantaged populations, e.g. "the social determinants of health". The focus of the CHAMMP approach lies between the "medical model" which emphasizes prescriptive medical solutions (e.g. psychopharmacology) and a "systems model" which targets multiple social factors that contribute to sustain poverty, discrimination, and unequal access to opportunity. Our interventions share a common skills-based, educational and behavioral focus aimed at improving affected individuals' ability to participate in their own health care. Specifically, the interventions aim to: increase motivation to action, optimize psychological coping, access psychosocial support, better manage and regulate emotions, increase self-efficacy and behavioral activation, and creatively solve problems. Thus, our approach provides proactive and effective strategies that help individuals improve their lives in the short term, and take maximal advantage of whatever medical, psychological, and social resources are available, rather than waiting for longer term social and political solutions aimed at the larger social context.

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