Jeremy Countryman

A Focus on Transition to Higher Education for Students with Mental Health Needs

Focus newsletter, Supported Education, Youth and Emerging Adults /

For students with mental health needs, the transition to campus life can be a major challenge. Students must adjust to living independently, take on new academic work and also manage their health and wellness. Despite the fact that most colleges and universities have some kind of support in place, an unacceptably large proportion of students […]

A Focus on Transition to Higher Education for Students with Mental Health Needs Read More »

A Focus on SAMHSA’s New Strategic Plan

Focus newsletter, Latest News, SAMHSA news /

Like any organization, from the largest corporation to the smallest grassroots advocacy group, our nation’s lead agency for behavioral health, SAMHSA, has a strategic plan to guide it. After more than 1,400 public comments and months of refinement, the latest version of that plan, Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018

A Focus on SAMHSA’s New Strategic Plan Read More »

Focus: A Policy Model for Campus Mental Health

Focus newsletter, Latest News, Supported Education, Youth and Emerging Adults /

On campuses across the country there is a growing consensus that the mental health of the student body must be a topic of open conversation. Many colleges and universities offer free, confidential counseling services, and the stigma associated with behavioral health is being challenged by student activists. While the atmosphere surrounding campus mental health is

Focus: A Policy Model for Campus Mental Health Read More »

Focus: Peers at the Center of New Approaches to Coordinated Care

Employment, Focus newsletter, Healthcare reform, Latest News, Workforce Development /

It’s no secret that we live in an extraordinarily dynamic moment for behavioral health, and the healthcare system in general. Major changes to healthcare laws, including the Affordable Care Act and mental health parity legislation, have opened up access to behavioral health care. At the same time, the value of lived experience as a professional

Focus: Peers at the Center of New Approaches to Coordinated Care Read More »

Make Your Voice Heard through Boards, Committees and Councils

Focus newsletter, Latest News, Organizational Development, Recovery, Workforce Development /

One of the goals of the mental health consumer movement is to change the system. People with lived experience want a more compassionate system of care, that sees people with mental health challenges as experts in their own lives, relies on recovery principles, and considers the strengths of an individual as a whole person, instead

Make Your Voice Heard through Boards, Committees and Councils Read More »

Managing Peer Support Employees Experiencing Mental Health Crisis

Employment, Focus newsletter, Latest News, Organizational Development, Workforce Development /

For any organization, recruiting, managing and retaining qualified professional staff is an essential part of doing business. For consumer mental health organizations, taking care of their employees while providing quality services to the community is an even more complex challenge. Not only must organizations ensure that the supports and services their employees provide are of

Managing Peer Support Employees Experiencing Mental Health Crisis Read More »

Focus: Thirty Schools Recognized for Quality Mental Health Programming

Focus newsletter, Supported Education /

It’s no secret that student mental health and suicide prevention have become major issues on college campuses across the country. While some institutions have made meaningful efforts to encourage dialogue, counter stigma, and make mental health services readily accessible, concerns about liability, an inability to adequately serve students and other factors have made higher education

Focus: Thirty Schools Recognized for Quality Mental Health Programming Read More »

A Focus on The Mental Health Workforce Crisis

Focus newsletter, Healthcare reform, Latest News, Workforce Development /

As last year’s SAMHSA report to Congress on the nation’s substance abuse and mental health workforce noted, the demand for behavioral health services in the US exceeds what is available. With expanded access to care through the Affordable Care Act and new Mental Health Parity rules, that demand will only increase in coming years, and

A Focus on The Mental Health Workforce Crisis Read More »