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How to Turn Behavioral Health Funding into Measurable Patient Outcomes
California’s recent proposal to implement a 1-nurse-to-6-patient staffing ratio at psychiatric hospitals has sparked widespread concern across the behavioral health system. The emergency regulations are set to take effect as early as June 1, and facilities that fail to meet the new thresholds...
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Your Leadership Style Will Shape Your Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is the collection of values, beliefs, and attitudes that shape the way a firm operates, that is, how its people think, feel, and act (Gutterman, 2025). Organizational culture can evolve, but it is not accidental. It is shaped and sustained by its leadership (Jaiyeola et al.,...
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How Psychiatric Office Support Directly Improves Mental Health Treatment Outcomes
When we evaluate why a patient improves or doesn't, we tend to focus on the method itself. Was the medication the right fit? Was the TMS protocol appropriately calibrated? Was the ketamine dosage well-tolerated? These are the right clinical questions to ask. But the quality of support surrounding...
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Integrating Peers in CCBHCs: The Power of Lived Experience
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) have shifted the way we approach treatment and the delivery of behavioral health services. Those who hold the designation of CCBHC have been tasked with providing a person-centered model that combines mental health services, substance use...
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From Access to Engagement: Reimagining the Consumer Experience in Behavioral Health
Behavioral health systems have made significant strides in expanding access to care. Peer services have grown across outpatient clinics, crisis teams, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), and substance use treatment programs. Telehealth has normalized remote care. Patient portals...
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Transforming Crisis Response: Direct EMS Radio Access for Peer Support Teams in Marion County
Behavioral health crises require rapid response, specialized support, and seamless coordination across emergency systems to minimize unwanted outcomes. Yet, in many communities, traditional Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workflows delay behavioral health intervention until after transport or...
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Overcoming Barriers to Integrating Peer Support in Mental Healthcare Systems
Peer support is one of the most promising approaches in behavioral health, demonstrating measurable improvements in recovery outcomes for people living with serious mental illness. Yet despite decades of research and growing policy support, peer specialists remain underutilized across many...
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Integrating Peer Professionals in Complex Behavioral Health Systems
NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest municipal health care system and New York City’s largest behavioral health provider, serves individuals with complex behavioral health and social needs including homelessness, justice involvement, and chronic medical conditions. In this landscape,...
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Peer Support in Practice: Workplace Strategies and Professional Development
The field of peer support is quickly gaining prominence and visibility across the domains of behavioral health and substance use services. Georgia was the first state to provide Medicaid-billable mental health peer services in 1999 - it was not until 2012 that Medicaid billing was authorized for...
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An Ecological Perspective on Policing and Behavioral Health
The ecological model helps us understand how people’s environments—from family systems to institutions like policing—shape behavioral health outcomes. Environmental determinants help explain how systemic and structural conditions contribute to mental health disparities. This article examines...
