Reimbursements and the problems that arise while negotiating with payers.   Clinical burnout that leads to turnover.  Turnover that leads to staffing shortages. .  Patients re-entering treatments at rates of 30% or higher year over year. These are common pain points across the behavioral health and addiction treatment field. While discussed often, solutions have been few and far between. …

Measurement-based Care Is Coming. You Can Lead the Way or Fade Away, the Choice Is Yours Read More »

Every provider in the country is struggling with staffing – nurses, therapists, doctors, there’s a shortage. Providers are stuck in a cycle of paying higher and higher salaries, sign-on bonuses, and benefits, which is simply unsustainable. The average behavioral health provider is paying 30% more for its nursing staff than it did 2 years ago …

Solving for Clinician Recruitment & Retention Read More »

This article is the concluding piece of the three-part series addressing pain points across the behavioral health space.   Our previous publications emphasized the importance of measurement and staff investment (training & development, support that accompanies organizational policy shifts, etc.). This article focuses on enhancing quality care, reducing patient readmittance, building a differentiated program that fulfills its …

Fulfilling The Mission, Closing The Gap Read More »

“I”  Statements are a communication tool that allows for assertive communication without accusations which often making listeners feel defensive and leading to communication breakdowns. “I” Statements focus on the speaker’s beliefs and feelings rather than the speaker’s thoughts or characteristics of listener. They support effective communication in escalating conversations, when one or both parties may …

Creating “I” Statements Read More »

Though it is not uncommon for individuals to have negative thoughts from time to time, if negative thought patterns become so ingrained that they begin interfering with daily life, relationships, and overall well-being, individuals may benefit from cognitive restructuring.  Cognitive restructuring is an evidenced-based tool that can help interrupt and redirect negative thought patterns by …

Restructuring Negative Thoughts Read More »

Goals are a critical aspect of recovery, and well-defined, relevant, achievable goals support a patient’s growth from one stage of healing to the next without them becoming complacent; setting SMART goals sets patients up for success because they have built-in, measurable accountability. SMART goal setting allows individuals to set a preferred destination and begin mapping …

Setting SMART Goals in Recovery Read More »

“Motivation for change must be generated before change can occur.” – Irvin D. Yalom Twelve men sit in a room. Many don’t want to be there, a few are court-appointed, and none feel particularly well; sleeping is an issue for most. How do you motivate these men to engage in a group session centered around “I” …

Motivation to Grow: Utilizing Adult Learning Principles to Increase Patient Buy-in Read More »

It is not uncommon to be faced with daunting challenges that can quickly become overwhelming and lead to frustration and distress. In these situations, individuals likely face temptations to procrastinate, which creates more anxiety down the line or may drive one to give up altogether, leading to negative thought patterns of uselessness. People may even …

Breaking Down Goals Read More »

If you’ve ever met an adult who hasn’t learned how to swim, there is a good chance it stems from an ingrained fear of drowning; they are not just afraid of going into the water but terrified. A traumatic event like a near-drowning as a child or the death of a family member in the …

The Case for Increasing Patient Practice in Group Therapy Read More »

No Pains, No Gains. If little labour, little are our gains: Man’s fate is according to his pains. — Hesperides (Robert Herrick, 1648) One of the goals of group therapy is to have patients leave with more knowledge or skills than when they entered, meaning that therapy sessions qualify as a learning environment, so the terms learner …

Desirable Difficulty: The Right Type of Stress for Group Therapy Read More »