Want to get a head start on your NatCon25 learning journey? Take advantage of our pre-event program, designed to help you strengthen your skill sets and service delivery.
Multi-day Special Events
Middle Management Academy (MMA) - $1,550
Wednesday, April 30 through Saturday, May 3, 2025
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 inspire insight into their own management strengths and help resolve thorny supervision challenges. The curriculum emphasizes learning and applying skills related to employee engagement, staff supervision, change management, diversity/equity/inclusion, healthy conflict, teamwork and trust. To learn more, please contact Kim Murray.
Full-day Preconference Universities
9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET | Sunday, May 4
CCBHC Forum
Addressing the nation’s ongoing mental health and substance use crises requires innovative solutions. The Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model provides community-based clinics with the flexibility to expand their services and deliver comprehensive, high-quality care to those in need. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing has been a strong advocate for this model since its inception, collaborating with states and clinics to facilitate implementation and promote its continued expansion across the country.
We are excited to host our inaugural CCBHC Forum at NatCon25. Designed for state health officials, policymakers, CCBHCs, advocacy groups, researchers and other stakeholders, this full-day event will feature insights from leading national experts on the current landscape of CCBHC implementation and a vision for the future of mental health and substance use treatment.
The CCBHC Forum will include joint programming with our Crisis Response Services Summit, exploring how the CCBHC model enhances effective crisis systems. We encourage CCBHC grantees to participate in the morning sessions before joining the SAMHSA CCBHC Expansion Preconference convening in the afternoon. The day will conclude with a joint reception alongside attendees of the Crisis Response Services Summit.
Members and Government Officials: $425 | Nonmembers: $475
Crisis Response Services Summit
We are in a historic era for crisis services. Since the launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the past two years have brought unprecedented funding and support to the entire crisis system, encompassing 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 vulnerable populations.
To support this crucial work, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing will hold a Crisis Response Services Summit as part of the NatCon25 program. We will gather renowned thought leaders for insightful presentations and networking opportunities that span the crisis continuum. Additionally, we’ve expanded networking spaces to foster connections and collaboratively address shared challenges. We are also excited to offer joint programming with our inaugural CCBHC Forum for part of the day.
Participants explore real-world questions that inspire insight into their own management strengths and help resolve thorny supervision challenges. The curriculum emphasizes learning and applying skills related to employee engagement, staff supervision, change management, diversity/equity/inclusion, healthy conflict, teamwork and trust.
Members: $425 | Nonmembers: $475
Half-day Preconference Universities
1-5 p.m. ET | Sunday, May 4
The Engagement-first Approach: Setting the Foundation for Quality Services
The engagement-first model equips organizational leaders and providers with effective tools and strategies to reconnect with the core purpose of their work, prioritizing engagement as the foundational approach for serving people with mental health and substance use challenges. This session will outline the vision and framework of the engagement-first model, providing practical strategies to overcome regulatory, financial and practice barriers that may seem daunting at first. Additionally, we will explore staff needs, including the necessary training and reimagining of roles to successfully implement this approach throughout the organization.
Members: $250 | Nonmembers: $275
SAMHSA CCBHC Expansion Preconference Convening
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 NatCon25 is not required. This workshop will highlight best practices in 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.
Members: Free | Non-members: Free
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