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Strengthening Peer Services Through Partnership
The expansion of peer-delivered services is one of the most significant developments in behavioral health over the past decade. What was once a rare, little-known role has become mainstream. A 2024 report by the Peer Recovery Center of Excellence estimated that more than 100,000 individuals...
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Supporting Recovery Through Peer Services: How Community-Based Support Helps People Reconnect, Heal, and Thrive
Peer services are often described as supportive, but at their best, they are transformational. Recovery is rarely a straight line, and it rarely happens in isolation. For many people living with mental health or substance use challenges, progress is shaped not only by treatment, but also by...
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Behavioral Health News Spotlight on Excellence: An Interview with Mary Brite, COO of Outreach Development Corporation, on Staying Mission-Driven Through Continuous Change
Overview In this interview, Mary Brite, Chief Operating Officer of Outreach Development Corporation, discusses how behavioral health leaders can navigate continuous change by anchoring to mission clarity, building strong organizational structures, and fostering a culture of listening,...
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Workforce Solutions in Behavioral Health: Insights from SMA Healthcare
The Behavioral Healthcare Workforce Crisis The behavioral healthcare sector faces one of the most severe workforce shortages in decades. As of 2023, an estimated 169 million individuals in the U.S. live in Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, which is projected to worsen by 2037 (National...
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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...
