behavioral health

[ bih-heyv-yer-uhl helth ]

noun

1. the field of medicine concerned with a person’s activities or habits and how these affect physical, mental, and social well-being.
2. well-being as it relates to one’s activities and habits.

Word History and Origins

Origin of behavioral health¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Although the project is within city limits, it fell to the county to offer supportive services through its behavioral health services agency.

From Los Angeles Times

Although it has not been approved to treat mental health conditions, it is increasingly being used off-label to treat depression, suicidality and PTSD, said Dr. Brent Turnipseed, the medical director of a ketamine clinic Roots Behavioral Health in Austin, Texas.

From Salon

But he’s also proposed significantly adding mental health and substance use treatment beds and using behavioral health workers alongside police to treat people on the streets, to be paid for with voter-approved mental health funding and money saved from terminating contracts with problematic nonprofits.

From Los Angeles Times

As the healthcare organization was seeing “throughout California, throughout the nation, this mental health crisis, we knew that we needed to act quickly,” said Rhonda Chabran, its vice president of behavioral health and wellness for Southern California and Hawaii.

From Los Angeles Times

“We do not feel that a strike is necessary. We don’t think it’s good for our members. And we think that we can reach agreement without a work stoppage,” said Rhonda Chabran, vice president of behavioral health and wellness for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California and Hawaii.

From Los Angeles Times