Archive for the ‘Workforce Training’ Category

Brief Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment: Designing Social Work Education to Enhance Clinical Practice

Over the past several years, the primary focus of inpatient psychiatric treatment has moved to a model of brief treatment and shortened length of stay. There have been many factors driving this, including the advent of managed care. The main goal of inpatient treatment has become rapid assessment...

The Foundations of a New “Wellness” Workforce

A revolution in the payment and delivery of behavioral health services is poised to transform the healthcare industry and all of its participants. Key stakeholders, including service recipients and their families, medical professionals, social service and community-based organizations, governmental...

Supporting Peer Specialists

An increasingly common workforce issue is preparing “traditional” providers for working beside peer providers, that is, individuals with the lived experience of mental health issues. SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) defines a peer provider as “a person who...

Training Increases Substance Abuse and Mental Health Interventions

Two to three brief training sessions can significantly increase pediatricians’ use of techniques for identifying and treating young people with potential alcohol, substance use, and mental health problems, according to a new study in a large pediatric primary care clinic. Collectively known as...

Meeting the Challenges of Healthcare Reform: Preparing the Workforce for Transformational Practice Change

There has been a tremendous amount of discussion associated with workforce retraining since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since its inception, it has been clear that the ACA establishes a new framework for health care from nearly universal insurance coverage to the...

Preparing the New Behavioral Health Workforce

The Affordable Care Act marked a national healthcare reform effort, and within that context, New York State, led by Governor Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team, is undergoing a substantial shift in publicly funded physical and behavioral healthcare. The authors have been deeply involved in the...

Workforce Development Needs of Addiction Professionals in New Jersey

A unique structure has been created to support the training and workforce development needs of addiction professionals in New Jersey. Through the NJ Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, a statewide Addiction Training & Workforce Development (ATWD)...

Investing in a Professional, Caring, and Mission-driven Workforce

The behavioral health care workforce is one of the fastest growing in the country. Projections for 2020, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, forecast a significant rise in employment for substance abuse and mental health counselors with a 36% increase from 2010-2020 – greater than the 11%...

Increasing the Addiction Workforce: Fellowship Training in Addiction Medicine

Substance use is one of the most significant public health issues in the United States. Annual costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care due to use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs exceeds $700 million annually (http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics)....

Dual Career Path Development: A Critical Component of Staff Retention and Development

The creation and implementation of a dual career path program can dramatically improve an organization’s staff retention rates. Most organizations offer only one track for advancement for employees, the entry into management. Employees choosing not to enter into management are often left with...