NatCon: It’s All About Connection

All of us at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing recognize the important work that our members do every day to support the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities.

Whether it’s preventing underage drinking or intervening to support families in crisis; whether it’s through mobile outreach to help people with serious mental illness; whether it’s supporting individuals through residential substance use treatment, offering recovery housing; or through a myriad of other programs and initiatives — you connect people with hope, possibility and recovery.

Your work is important and impactful, and I’m always deeply impressed by professionalism and passion that guides National Council members.

And you bring that same spirit with you every year when we gather at NatCon. That’s one of the reasons I’m so glad our conference is just around the corner — because NatCon gives us the chance to gather together as colleagues and friends, to reconnect, recharge and remind ourselves why this work matters.

More than anything else, NatCon is our opportunity to support one another, learn from one another and strengthen the community that drives our field forward. It has always provided the behavioral health community with opportunities to feed our curiosity and recharge our batteries. Having so many friends and colleagues in one place at one time allows us to connect and learn. I get to hear what you’re thinking about — your concerns, successes and lessons learned. I get to hear what you need to serve your communities and thrive.

As always, NatCon will feature numerous compelling speakers who will share their knowledge and inspiration. Here are some of this year’s highlights:

• Angela Duckworth will share her message of grit and resilience.
• Shankar Vedantam will share ideas on how to focus on what’s within your control and what’s most important.
• Trent Gillespie will share his thoughts on AI and how we can use that technology to work smarter and more efficiently.

We will also have more than 550 thought leaders, 150 exhibitors and 24 learning tracks that address real-world challenges and trends. Our final discount on registration ends soon: If you haven’t registered yet, you can still save $100 on your registration through the end of the day on March 12 (11:59 pm!). Seize this opportunity to join more than 5,000 of your peers from the behavioral health field at NatCon.

Let me know if you plan to attend NatCon by leaving a comment below. If you see me at NatCon, come say hello.

And please like, share and repost this column. Help spread the word about this major event and all our work to build a community that supports people throughout the behavioral health field.