[NYAPRS Enews] MHW: ACMHA Expands Mission, Reflected in Name Change

[Harvey Rosenthal]

NYAPRS Note: Over the last 30 years, ACMHA has brought together some of
the nation's visionary leaders in the area of mental health policy and
service development to identify the breaking issues of the day and to
help launch or shape some historic initiatives, including integrated
behavioral and physical health (the Institute of Medicine Report),
workforce (the Annapolis Coalition) and health care reform (the Whole
Health Campaign). ACMHA has expanded its mission to address the full
array of behavioral health issues and has changed its name accordingly.
NYAPRS' Harvey Rosenthal was recently named to serve on the ACMHA Board.

 

ACMHA Changes Name To Reflect MH And SA Leadership

Mental Health Weekly  June 8, 2009

 


The American College of Mental Health Administration (ACMHA) last week
announced it had officially changed its name to ACMHA: The College for
Behavioral Health Leadership, reflecting the mission, vision and
aspirations of the organization, which is celebrating its 30th
anniversary this year.

 

The name change signals the importance of being "recognized as the
premier forum for the exchange of new policy ideas that contribute to
the improvement in the lives of people with mental health and substance
use disorders and the systems that provide treatment and prevention
services," according to ACMHA.

 

The organization's mission and vision are focused on convening leaders
from the mental health and substance use community to identify existing
controversy, form consensus, and broker ideas that contribute to the
evolution of behavioral health, said Kris Ericson, Ph.D., executive
director of ACMHA: The College for Behavioral Health Leadership. The
organization's mission and vision also promote leadership development
and succession, and provide education and networking to make those
things happen, she said.

 

"By changing our name, ACMHA is able to better ensure that the field
understands the switch we have been making to include mental health and
substance use leaders in this work," Ericson told MHW. Ericson added,
"Our leadership is robust. We have an individual mentorship program that
has been in operation for three years.

 

Learners are paired with a senior ACMHA leader as a mentor and work
together on individual goals over the course of a year."

 

The emerging leaders network is newly formed within the College and
allows those individuals to engage in peer learning as well as
interaction with senior members on issues of leadership that will affect
the field going forward, she noted.

 

Strategic plan

According to ACMHA, the new name clearly fits the organization's mission
and goals, which are set out in it strategic plan:

* Identify and address complex issues of emerging importance.

* Develop consensus through cross-discipline dialogues.

* Promote best and evidence based practices.

* Broker ideas that contribute to the evolution of behavioral health
outcomes.

* Promote leadership development and succession.

* Provide education, networking, and other opportunities to interact
with leaders in relevant fields.

 

ACMHA initiatives

Ericson noted that over the next three months the organization plans to
implement its Critical Issues Series, a monthly audioconference
interview format with senior leaders addressing topics of concern in the
field. The series will address "how we can continue to move forward,
especially in light of the current economic crisis." She added, "The
audioconference series will address the economic impact from all parts
of the field: budget cuts, policy and the services we deliver." *

 

Brief summaries of the calls will be made available on the ACMHA website

at www.acmha.org. 

The organization will continue its Arm Chair Reflections initiative - a
series of brief papers on a variety of topics written by ACMHA members.
ACMHA sets out to publish two papers each quarter, said Ericson. The
next ones will be available in July. Most recently, ACMHA published
papers on reducing disparities, children's mental health and working
with foundations. For more information, visit
www.achma.org/library/current_events.cfm.

 

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