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Relationship-Driven Recovery: Reimagining Behavioral Health Support for Justice-Involved Individuals
For many people leaving jail or prison, release isn't just the end of a difficult journey; it's the beginning of an entirely new set of challenges. Returning to the community often means rebuilding nearly every aspect of daily life: obtaining identification, securing housing, finding employment,...
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A Trauma-Informed Approach to Justice-Involved Veterans
For many veterans, justice involvement does not happen in isolation from their life experiences. Trauma can shape how a person responds to stress, authority, relationships, and support, and for some veterans, those experiences may be connected to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can...
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The Director Who Was Once the Intake: What Justice-Involved Clients Taught Me From Both Sides of the Desk
I have occupied three chairs in the behavioral health system's relationship with justice-involved people: the client in the residential program with a record behind him, the counselor across the desk, and the director deciding who gets the bed. Most practitioners spend a career in one of those...
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The Missing Intercept: From Lived Experience to Lived Expertise – The Case for Justice Peers
A behavioral health crisis can become a 911 call, which can then become police contact. Police contact can become arrest or, in some cases, death. Arrest can become detention, which interrupts medication, housing, employment, treatment, family connection, social supports, and recovery. When all is...
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Suffering in Silence: A Police Officer’s Mental Health Journey After a Critical Incident
Editor's Note: This article contains first-person descriptions of self-harm, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and other difficult experiences. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for support. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text at...
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Earlier Risk Detection Is the Biggest Breakthrough in Mental Health AI
In the last few years, an abundance of consumer-facing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mental health tools have appeared on the market. The prevailing narrative is that generative AI can help close the gap between profuse mental health needs and insufficient care capacity. Yet there are...
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What Looked Like Defiance Was Actually Grief: The Healing Power of Peer Support in Children’s Mental Health
Ten-year-old Marcus stopped talking after his father was incarcerated. At first, school staff assumed he was angry. Then they thought he was being oppositional. Over time, his silence became impossible to ignore. He stopped participating in class discussions. He isolated himself during lunch. He...
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How Cities Can Follow Oklahoma City’s Example to Address Residents’ Mental Health Needs Through Coordinated Emergency Response
Over the past three years, Oklahoma City has reimagined its emergency response system to better meet residents' behavioral health needs. The results are already impressive: the city's new alternative response teams have kept thousands of people out of the emergency room and drastically reduced...
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Peer Support and Case Management: Complementary, Not Interchangeable
Across the behavioral health field, two frontline roles increasingly shape how services are delivered: case managers and peer support specialists. Both work directly with individuals navigating mental health challenges, substance use recovery, housing instability, and community reintegration. Both...
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Peering In: A Look at Mental Health Peer Providers and How They Help People Recover
I believe that recovery is possible. Not just for me, but for EVERYONE. Does this mean that everyone recovers? No, because not everyone is taught the skills to recover. Also, once a person learns the skills, they must choose to use them. My peer specialist colleagues and I can give you a flashlight...
