The mental health and substance use treatment workforce shortage has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic — providers and people with lived experience face record-high overdose rates, increases in suicidal ideation and a continued lack of access to care.
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing has been at the forefront of driving best practice standards aimed at bolstering, educating, empowering and guiding the national workforce, and building capacity at all levels.
Workforce shortages have always been an issue, but with the COVID 19 pandemic, they have become a crisis for our field. It is vitally important for National Council to spearhead solutions, mitigate future risk and support our local community mental health and substance use treatment workforce, so those who need care have the greatest chance of receiving safe, fair access.
Leveraging the field’s leading health experts, the National Council leads the design and delivery of capacity-building research, resources and tools to advance workforce development nationally, and advocates for policies at the federal and local levels.
The National Council’s Workforce Development goal is to educate and train the current and future members of the mental health and substance use treatment workforce, from direct care delivery and peer support to C-suite executives.
We help organizations build a data-informed workforce, organizational and community resilience, trauma-informed supervision and leadership, and eliminate gaps in implementation of organizational, systemic culture change.
The Center for Workforce Solutions is convening the field to develop actionable ideas and strategies to meaningfully improve the workforce crisis.
The CoE-IHS team partnered with 30 integrated care organizations to support their innovative solutions to address workforce barriers.…
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing is stepping up to the challenge, creating accessible, effective educational pathways to behavioral health careers.
Events
-
Surviving and Thriving in the New SUD Landscape with AIOct 16, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
The substance use disorder field is in the middle of big changes. Small, mission-driven nonprofits — often running on limited resources — are now competing with large, capital-backed provider organizations entering markets funded by Medicaid and grants. Margins are tighter than ever, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will…
-
Workforce Solutions Jam: Resilience in ActionOct 21, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Strategies for the Behavioral Health Workforce Behavioral health organizations across sectors (providers, state agencies, counties, etc.) are facing fast-paced, daunting change. The words “uncertainty,” “confusion,” “exhaustion” and “anxiety” are frequent in our day-to-day conversations, as organizations consider how to adapt to align systems of care with policy shifts, how to…
-
Middle Management Academy: October/November National TrainingOct 30, 12:00 pm – Nov 20, 5:00 pm
National Council’s Middle Management Academy helps behavioral health’s best and brightest reach their maximum leadership potential through hands-on learning. This popular and proven training is the only one of its kind — you can’t find a management course tailored for mental health and substance use treatment professionals anywhere else.
