Name
E09 - Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: Reimagining Behavioral Health Workforce Development
Date & Time
Thursday, October 16, 2025, 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Location Name
305A
Description

60 million Americans lack access to necessary mental health services. Workforce shortages, high costs, and training barriers have exacerbated inequities, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities. This session explores how two non-profit organizations, Helios Behavioral Health and Dignity Health Collective are addressing these barriers through an innovative workforce pipeline. By training and integrating BA-level professionals, community-based workers, and individuals with lived experience into Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) teams, we are creating sustainable career pathways and expanding culturally responsive care. Attendees will gain insights into effective strategies for workforce development, policy advocacy, and reimbursement models that support this transformation.

Speakers
Jessica Lyons MS, LMFT, VP of Partnerships, Mirah, Stratham, NH
Julie Luzarraga LICSW, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, Dignity in Healing Collective,
Johnathan Giles LCMHC, Co-Executive Director, Clinical Operations, Individual - Johnathan Giles,
Anaja Arthur MPH, Director of Training & Evaluation, Individual - Anaja Arthur,
Jessica Lyons Julie Luzarraga Johnathan Giles
Content Level
All Audience
Tags
Cost Effectiveness or Financial sustainability, Training/Supervision, Workforce development
Session Type
Concurrent
SIG or Committee
Collaborative Care Model (CoCM), Families and Health (F&H), Pediatrics (PEDs)
Objective 1
Describe how community-based workforce development models enhance behavioral health access and equity.
Objective 2
Identify policy and reimbursement strategies that support sustainable workforce expansion in CoCM teams.
Objective 3
Discuss practical implementation steps for integrating diverse, non-master’s-level behavioral health providers into clinical care settings.
Content Reference 1

Thomas, K. C., Ellis, A. R., Konrad, T. R., Holzer, C. E., & Morrissey, J. P. (2015). County-level estimates of mental health professional shortage in the United States. Psychiatric Services, 66(6), 1075–1081. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400581

Content Reference 2

Harnish, A., Jordan, M., Salyers, M. P., & Adams, E. L. (2023). Addressing the behavioral health workforce crisis through training and supervision innovations. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 50(2), 224–238. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10252488/

Content Reference 3

Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms. (2023). Behavioral health workforce report: Challenges and opportunities for the future. https://behavioralhealth.chir.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/bh-workforce-report.pdf

Content Reference 4

Duncan, B. L., Reese, R. J., Lengerich, A. J., DeSantis, B., Comeau, C. V., & Johnson-Esparza, Y. (2021). Measurement-based care in integrated health care: A randomized clinical trial. Families, Systems, & Health, 39(2), 259–268. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000608

Content Reference 5

Reay, S., Reay, W., Tevis, K., & Patterson, L. (2023). Do Degrees Matter? Rethinking Workforce Development for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Health Challenges. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. Received: 17 November 2022 / Accepted: 2 March 2023 / Published online: 23 March 2023. © The Author(s) 2023.