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Strengthening the Behavioral Health Workforce Through Upstream Overdose Prevention
I came to this work with a personal understanding of how overdose affects families and communities. I lost my brother to an unintentional fentanyl overdose two years ago after he took a pill that he believed was oxycodone, given by someone he trusted. The loss reshaped how I understood...
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Using NIATx Process Improvement to Enhance Workforce Recruitment, Hiring, Retention & Promotion
Much of the focus on quality improvement in behavioral health is dedicated to “the what,” as it focuses on enhancing the quality of services through the implementation and sustainment of high-fidelity evidence-based practices. But without also focusing on the process, “the how,” the...
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Do Higher Wages, Benefits, and Career Development Reduce Turnover in Behavioral Health?
The sector that is responsible for the care and treatment of individuals with behavioral health conditions is vital. It is directly involved with the patients and their families. Yet, this sector faces an extraordinary problem that is not seen in other healthcare sectors: very high and persistent...
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Leveraging Behavioral Health Consultants in Integrated Care to Detect and Triage Menopause in Midlife Women
The United States is facing an urgent crisis: a significant shortage of behavioral health professionals that leaves countless individuals without the care they desperately need (Bishop et al., 2024). In this landscape, optimizing the existing workforce is not merely a tactical choice; it is a...
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Strengthening the Behavioral Health Workforce: Leadership Strategies for a System in Transition
Across North America, healthcare executives are facing a reality that can no longer be ignored: the behavioral health care workforce is stretched thin, unevenly distributed, and increasingly overwhelmed by the growing complexity of patient needs. The demands of mental health and addictions care...
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Supporting Supervisors and Mid-Level Leaders in Behavioral Health Organizations
More than five years after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the nation, the behavioral health field continues to undergo profound and lasting shifts. Early in the pandemic, the World Health Organization (2022) reported a global 25 percent increase in anxiety and depressive disorders, a surge that...
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Connecting Workplaces to Wellness: Structural Solutions to Burnout
What percentage of your time at work is spent connecting with others? A central tenet of behavioral and mental health care is how we show up matters. Yet, a desire to care for the wellbeing of others does not directly translate to wellness among our workforces. The National Council for Mental...
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Relationships are Defined by How They End: The Importance of Acknowledging Loss at Work
Death, as well as other major losses, is dealt with differently by different agencies and at different times in the life of an agency. Our “work family” is often an important part of our lives, so it is important to realize that dealing with loss at work sets the tone for how these...
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Building the Future: Workforce Innovation in Behavioral Health for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
As behavioral health needs among individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) become more complex and widespread, the workforce tasked with supporting them is under extraordinary pressure. To ensure quality, continuity, and person-centered care, behavioral health systems must invest in...
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Addressing the Needs of the Perinatal Behavioral Health Workforce
The behavioral health care workforce, including mental health and substance use services, is facing mounting uncertainty at a critical moment. Under the recently passed, One Big Beautiful Bill Act [Congress.gov, 2025], federal loan restrictions will impose strict caps on the borrowing of future...
