The Importance of Equity for All: Accessing Preventative Affordable Behavioral Health Care

The Office of Behavioral Health Equity (OBHE) coordinates with SAMHSA’s efforts to reduce disparities in mental and/or substance use disorders across populations. These efforts are focused on the promotion of behavioral health equity for underserved racial and ethnic minority, as well as lesbian,...

The Lens of Loss: Perspectives of Family Members Following Suicide Loss

When we think about the suicide of a loved one, we think of profound loss, of grief, of finding a way to endure amid unyielding pain. But we gain something in the aftermath, one nearly as burdensome. It is a new perspective: Loss becomes a lens through which life is lived. And it can be difficult...

Better Together: Addressing Challenges by Working Together

Positive growth as a result of navigating challenges and building resilience is a basic tenet of the behavioral health care world. It’s the journey through which we support clients; it’s how clinicians and other staff flourish in their professions; and it’s how we, as organizations,...

On Self-Stigma and Employment

When we talk about stigmatization of people with behavioral health conditions in employment, many of us think of Equal Employment Opportunity disclaimers many companies place at the end of their job descriptions. Others would mention the Americans with Disabilities Act and name drop reasonable...

Volunteers: A Critical Support for Families Involved in the Child Welfare System

Volunteers at The Mental Health Association of Westchester play a critical role in improving the lives of children and families served by the child welfare system. Through two unique programs that rely on trained, supervised community volunteers, we advocate for the well-being of youth in family...

From Crisis to Connection: Meeting the Workforce Shortage Head On

The workforce shortage has been felt keenly in the behavioral health field (BHECON, 2018). To effectively address this shortage, we must identify its root causes, understand dynamics that result in staff resignation decisions and connect the perceived impact on business sustainability while...

Promoting Post-Pandemic Growth

Post-pandemic life is at the forefront of most people’s minds right now. How could it not be when it reaches into every corner of our lives? Post-pandemic socialization, employment, childcare, recreation; the list goes on and on. It is not uncommon to hear people talking about a return to normal,...

Addressing the Needs of Frontline Workers

Throughout the past year, I have been struck by the degree to which attention to mental health and wellness, specifically of the impact of trauma on mental health, has entered mainstream discussion. “Frontline Workers” (FLW) who continued to show up for work despite personal risks have been...

Innovative Disrupters in Behavioral Health

Innovation – the new buzzword in behavioral health. What is it and do you need this in your organization? Why is everyone discussing the need for it in behavioral health? If we look at the definition of innovation by the Merriam-Webster dictionary it’s “a new idea, method, or device; the...

Social Determinants of Health and COVID-19: A Peer Perspective

As a peer professional and advocate who helps people recognize their inherent strengths and works to facilitate recovery, it is so very disappointing to consider that after the huge volume of research that has been conducted, and the enormous number of scholarly articles which have been written,...