Preconference Events

This year at NatCon, we’re offering more content than ever — starting with our preconference events. We’ve heard your feedback: You want programming that dives deeper into the challenges you face and delivers practical, real-world solutions. Make the most of your NatCon experience by adding a preconference event to your registration!

Multi-day Special Event

Middle Management Academy (MMA)

Wednesday, April 22, through Saturday, April 25
Members and Nonmembers: $1,550

Middle Management Academy (MMA) is the only program of its kind to develop future health care leaders into strong links in the management chain. They learn the skills to engage staff, improve performance and fulfill their role as influential front-line leaders. The MMA blends best-in-class management and supervision tools with experiential learning customized for behavioral health and health care managers and leaders. 

Participants explore real-world questions that spark insight into their own management strengths and help resolve thorny supervision challenges. You’ll learn applicable skills for employee engagement, staff supervision, change management, healthy conflict, teamwork and trust. To learn more, contact Kim Murray.

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Full-day Preconference Universities

Expanding From Case Management to Care Management

Friday, April 24 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MT
Members: $425 | Nonmembers: $475

As health care reform advances and new care models and payment systems become the norm, it is critical to prepare your case managers, peer support staff, care coordinators and other employees to function in these expanded roles. Implementing care management concepts and practices requires organizational leadership, staff preparation and knowledge.

Join us for an in-depth look at current health care trends shaping these roles. This interactive workshop will help health care professionals, supervisors and leaders manage and support their clients’ overall health. You’ll learn how to apply care management principles to achieve a whole-person, whole-health approach that centers the individual. Topics include team-based care, data-informed decision-making, health literacy, care coordination and strategies for promoting health behavior change.

Team up and save! Register three or more people from your organization for this Preconference Event and receive 10% off with code CASE26. Don’t miss this chance to learn, connect and save together!

2026 CCBHC Forum

Sunday, April 26 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MT
Members and Government Officials: $425 | Nonmembers: $475

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) are a proven model for delivering care to people with substance use and mental health challenges. But implementing the model can be complex. Many different stakeholder groups (e.g., providers, advocates, consultants, associations, state officials) must work together to create a framework that aligns with the federal criteria while meeting state and community needs. 

Want to learn more? Join our second annual CCBHC Forum! This is the only meeting in the country that brings all key stakeholders into one space to share innovations and collaborate for success. Hear from leading national experts in CCBHC research, implementation and policy as they explore local, state and national efforts and share their vision for the future of mental health and substance use treatment through the CCBHC model.

State Behavioral Health Team Learning Community

Sunday, April 26 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MT 
Members and Government Officials: $425 | Nonmembers: $475 

This session brings together state behavioral health leaders, agency partners and providers in a collaborative learning community. State teams will share knowledge and engage in strategic planning and action problem-solving. They’ll learn the historical context, candidly discuss challenges and explore promising models. At the end, they’ll have concrete action items to advance behavioral health integration, workforce resilience and system sustainability. The session combines didactic presentations, state-specific tasks and learning opportunities that can be shared across teams. Each team will develop actionable plans, goals and objectives. They’ll leave with an implementation strategy to guide the year ahead.

Value-based Payment Contracting

Sunday, April 26 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MT 
Members: $425 | Nonmembers: $475

Value-based payment (VBP) mechanisms have expanded across a wide range of health care settings over the past 15 years. This session on VBP contracting is structured in three parts:

1. Establishing a baseline of VBP theory and mechanisms to build a shared foundation for innovation and problem-solving.
2. Clarifying the different value propositions for community mental health providers.
3. Synthesizing recommendations for how these providers can participate in VBPs, including roadmaps for developing value-based care capabilities and economic engines over time.

The session will be chaired by Dr. Patrick Runnels. He brings six years of experience as chief medical officer of population health for an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) with 600,000 attributed members across Medicaid, Medicare and commercial contracts. His organization achieved the second-highest Medicare ACO performance nationwide last year. Dr. Runnels also has 10 years of leadership experience as medical director at a large community mental health center in Cleveland.

Register now to take the next step in your VBP journey!

Leading From a Secure Base: Building Resilient Organizations in Times of Uncertainty

Sunday, April 26 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MT  
Members: $425 | Nonmembers: $475 | Exclusive to CEOs 

In today’s polarized climate, nonprofit behavioral health leaders must navigate unprecedented pressures and constraints. They face political pushback, workforce fatigue and shifting expectations. Research shows that the most effective leaders engage in ongoing learning and self-reflection. They recognize that the changing environment requires new skills and approaches. Even the most seasoned leaders can learn from emerging frameworks and from one another when there is dedicated time and space for both.

This interactive session will draw on attachment-based and trauma-informed leadership frameworks to explore how executives can serve as “secure bases” for their teams, cultivating trust and moral resilience while sustaining their missions. Participants will reflect on their own leadership stance, examine the factors shaping organizational climate, explore the array of constraints that influence their current reality, and identify strategies to align values with operations.

Through discussion, reflection and peer exchange, attendees will take away practical tools to strengthen availability, sensitivity, acceptance, cooperation and belonging within their teams. They’ll also gain a host of strategies to navigate turbulent times and sustain clarity and courage in the face of resistance.

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Morning Half-day

More Than a Model: Practical Strategies for Collaborative Care Implementation

Sunday, April 26 | 8 a.m.-12 p.m. MT
Members: $250 | Nonmembers: $275

More than 100 randomized controlled trials have shown that the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) is effective for managing depression and other mental health conditions in primary and specialty medical settings. In this session, you’ll learn key considerations, steps and program requirements for implementing CoCM. It will help you ensure financial sustainability while maintaining fidelity to the model. The presenters will share an implementation checklist, registry decision tree, billing summary and other tools to assess readiness and guide implementation within your own health system.

The training will also explore how CoCM has expanded to address a broader range of conditions. The presenters will share best practices for adoption and sustainability. They’ll use real-world examples from their work with hundreds of organizations and tailor the discussions to your interests.

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Afternoon Half-day

Crisis Response Services Convening

Sunday, April 26 | 1-5 p.m. MT
Members: $250 | Nonmembers: $275

We are in a historic era for crisis services. In the three years since the launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, we’ve seen unprecedented funding and support for the entire crisis system. This encompasses call centers, mobile crisis teams and crisis stabilization services. Today, states and communities are actively enhancing and coordinating their crisis systems in innovative ways to better serve people.

To support this crucial work, we will hold a Crisis Response Services Convening during this year’s NatCon. Previous NatCon attendees have expressed a desire for more networking opportunities and chances to focus on their particular situations. With that in mind, we’ve expanded networking spaces to foster connections and collaboratively address shared challenges. We are also excited to offer attendees the opportunity to join the CCBHC Forum and Crisis Response Reception in the evening.

SAMHSA CCBHC-Expansion Grantees Preconference Convening

Sunday, April 26 | 1-5 p.m. MT
Members: Free | Nonmembers: Free | Exclusive to CCBHC-E Grantees

We invite current CCBHC-Expansion (CCBHC-E) grantees to join us for an in-person convening hosted by the CCBHC-E National Training and Technical Assistance Center. Attendance is free, and registration for NatCon is not required. This workshop will highlight best practices for CCBHC implementation and offer valuable opportunities for peer-to-peer engagement with staff from fellow CCBHCs. Attendees will learn from other grantees and forge connections to enhance CCBHC innovations and sustainability.

This convening is exclusively for current CCBHC-E grantees, including PDI and IA grantees. Each CCBHC may send up to two staff members. If additional members from your organization wish to attend, you can add their names to the waitlist. To complete your registration, please enter the registration code from your email invitation. If you have any questions regarding the SAMHSA CCBHC-E Preconference Convening, please contact us.