The Behavioral Health Aide (BHA) Program grew out of the 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.

ANTHC is a consortium of 18 Tribal Health Organizations (THOs) within the state of Alaska. THOs created and tasked the Tribal Behavioral Health Directors Committee (TBHDC) with identifying community health priorities in areas such as domestic violence, sexual assault, substance use, suicide, and historical trauma. Through the guidance and leadership of the TBHDC, the BHA Program aims to improve behavioral health outcomes by addressing the various training needs of the BHA workforce established to assess and provide emergent, acute, and chronic medical care to residents in rural communities.