How do we know when to celebrate?

This editorial presents a brief historical overview of emerging knowledge since the 1970s that led to the birth of a new discipline, Family Practice (now Family Medicine). Family Medicine residencies were required to include training on mental health, family dynamics, communication skills, and other behavioral science topics. The next two decades witnessed an explosion of clinical research. High users of general medical services were found to have a two- to threefold higher prevalence of mental illness. These patients consumed disproportionate amounts of health care dollars, suggesting that cost containment may require mental health treatment. Over the last 30 years researchers have demonstrated that combining biomedical and psychosocial expertise in collaborative treatment models produces better outcomes for patients with mental illness, with physical illness, and for the majority who have a complicated mixture of biopsychosocial ailments. The advent of collaboration between disciplines and the integration of service designs is something to celebrate. In this issue of Families, Systems and Health, representatives of eight organizations, spanning behavioral health, nursing, medicine, and interdisciplinary practice, all endorse behavioral health integration in the health home. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).