Weitzman ECHO Fusion 2025-2026: Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health

Weitzman ECHO Fusion connects primary care medical and behavioral health providers nationally with a multidisciplinary team of experts and specialists to explore a holistic approach to common comorbidities and risk factors to improve quality of care for rural and underserved patients.

This ECHO series is organized into the following modules: 

1. Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health (November 2025 - April 2026)
2. Nutrition and Chronic Disease (April 2026 - September 2026)

The first module is on Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health and will cover evidence-based practices and treatment approaches for managing patients' nutrition and chronic diseases.

Providers may enroll and begin joining sessions at any time. Participants are automatically registered for the entire series to gain access to both modules and their individual sessions. However, attending the entire series is not mandatory.

Weitzman ECHO Fusion meets the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month from 12-1pm ET/9-10am PT.

Acknowledgement of Support

Weitzman Institute is pleased to announce that this ECHO is being offered as part of the Telehealth Technology-Enabled Learning Program (TTELP) in order to improve rural health outcomes. This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $475,000 with 100% funded by HRSA/HHS and 0% funded by nongovernment sources. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Target Audience

This activity is appropriate for the following audiences:

• Primary care medical providers (MD, DO, NP, PA)
• Behavioral health providers 
• Care team members

Learning Objectives

Related to comorbid substance use and mental health disorders, by the end of this module, participants will be able to:

1. Describe and manage common co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders using appropriate screening tools, assessments, and first-line treatment strategies.
2. Assess patients’ levels of care, stratifying based on diagnostic criteria, and determine when a referral to a higher level of care is necessary.
3. Apply patient-centered, trauma-informed, and evidence-based pharmacological and behavioral approaches to support patients with psychiatric and substance use disorders.
4. Address factors related to social determinants of health to assist patients and their support networks, such as navigating systems of care.
5. Utilize different members of the care team more effectively in order to promote integrated care.