National Council Rebrands as National Council for Mental Wellbeing

In response to changes in the fields of mental health and substance use treatment and the need to define more accurately the work of nearly 3,500 member organizations, the National Council for Behavioral Health announces it has changed its name to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

The change takes effect immediately.

“By changing our name, we are changing the conversation,” says National Council for Mental Wellbeing President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia. “Not only is the National Council for Mental Wellbeing inclusive of mental health and substance use, our new name boldly states our goal: to make mental wellbeing a reality for everyone.

“This change also presents an opportunity to align our name with our goal of promoting mental health, recovery from substance use challenges, and equitable access to high-quality care,” Ingoglia says.

The name change is the result of months of discussion among the National Council’s Board of Directors, members, staff, and consultants, who helped guide the process.

“A lot has changed over the past year. The pandemic has fueled mental illness and substance use,” Ingoglia says. “Today, the work of mental health and substance use treatment organizations is more important than ever. Our challenge is to ensure that everyone has access to comprehensive, high-quality, affordable treatment when they need it. By promoting comprehensive approaches to prevention, treatment, and recovery supports, we will ensure mental wellbeing is a reality for everyone.”

Fast Facts

Watch a short video announcing the new name.
The National Council website URL will remain the same: TheNationalCouncil.org.
The name change also includes a new logo, which was unveiled at NatCon, the organization’s annual conference.
Mental Health First Aid is also adopting a new look that links the relationship between the National Council and this vital program.
National Council for Mental Wellbeing is a service mark of National Council for Behavioral Health.

— Source: National Council for Mental Wellbeing

FSU Signs Agreement to Make Resiliency Project Available Nationwide

The Resiliency Project, an online health and wellness kit created at Florida State University (FSU) to help provide students with the tools to build coping and stress management skills, is now available nationwide to colleges and universities that asked for help to achieve similar successes.

“Shortly after the campus launch of the FSU Student Resilience Project, our team was deluged with requests from the national media and from universities across the nation,” says Jim Clark, dean of the College of Social Work. “I believe this initiative continues to galvanize the imagination of higher education leadership, primarily because it meets the fundamental and pressing needs of their students. I am excited about taking the next steps in the process of making this cutting-edge toolkit available to any leader who wants to bring it to their own campus.”

The university has signed an exclusive licensing deal with StreamlinedU to make the program available to more universities.

“We were impressed with the effectiveness and the ease of use of the toolkit,” says James Stage, CEO of StreamlinedU. “Working with FSU also showed us the timeliness of support like this. It motivated us to develop a model that lowers the barrier for other schools to bring this toolkit to their students.”

The Resiliency Project was created by a team led by Karen Oehme, director of the Institute for Family Violence Studies at FSU and a research associate in the FSU College of Social Work. It initially materialized as a result of a request from FSU President John Thrasher and Provost Sally McRorie, who wanted to provide self-help materials to the FSU community without waiting for students to come forward and ask for help.

“FSU leadership understands that experiencing stress and the need to develop coping skills is universal,” Oehme says.

The web-based, evidence-informed toolkit was designed to equip students with skills to cope with challenges in their educational careers, ultimately preparing them for successful professional and community lives.

“Learning how to be resilient is such an important life skill, especially during these challenging times,” McRorie says. “We know what a difference the Resiliency Project has made for FSU students, and I’m thrilled that other students across the country will have access to this training.”

More information is available at https://resiliencyprojects.com.

— Source: Florida State University

The Collective Identity Mentoring Reaches Los Angeles

The Collective Identity Mentoring, a Los Angeles–based nonprofit, has recently launched its groundbreaking mentoring program and cohorts designed to provide support and enrich the lives of Black girls aged 13 to 25. The Collective Identity was created by Nicole Gilley, whose passion for advocating for young Black women in her community brought together a team of Black women from different ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and fields in an effort to make positive change in their communities.

The Collective Identity is particularly unique in that it was built virtually, while the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in the Los Angeles area. The Collective Identity’s board came together digitally to build what is intended to become a life-changing experience for the girls enrolled in the program.

“Working in an environment where my Blackness was a problem for those around me, I searched high and low for a mentor to help me navigate this labyrinth of discrimination and workplace retaliation. Unfortunately, I could not find a mentoring agency that offered mentoring services specifically for Black women by Black women. It baffled me that no one thought Black women in the workplace could use a mentor. The Collective Identity Mentoring was born from a place of desperation, hope, and the sheer force of will and determination,” Gilley says.

The 13 to 25 age range will be broken into three cohorts, each including 10 girls. The programs, Balance, Abound, and Thrive, will feature one-on-one mentoring for the girls, excursions into the community each month, and career-developing experience.

Balance, designed specifically for girls aged 13 to 15, will utilize a curriculum that aims to deconstruct negative and harmful ideologies that Black girls may have been told about themselves. This cohort will lay a foundation of self-exploration and empowerment through friendship and engaging experiences.

Thrive is for girls aged 15 to 17, and will focus on personal value development and future planning. This program will encourage healthy attitudes toward other women and aims to bolster healthy friendships and relationships while navigating the difficulties of high school.

Abound, for girls aged 18 to 25, will feature a curriculum that will focus on decision-making skills, résumé building, and self-exploration. Completion of the course will result in Abound cohorts attending a networking brunch with their polished résumé.

More information about The Collective Identity Mentoring is available at The Social Block (TheSocialBlockLB@gmail.com) or Gilley (Nicole@TheCollectiveIdentity.org).

— Source: The Collective Identity

Detroit Health System, Tech Companies to Tackle Health Inequities

Henry Ford Innovations, in partnership with Google Cloud and Miracle Software Systems, announces an international competition hosted in Detroit, inviting entrepreneurs to propose their top ideas for reducing health inequities through the use of digital technology. Henry Ford Innovations is the innovations arm of Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System.

“Through cross-industry partnerships, our ability to adopt technologies designed to end the disparities in health outcomes due to race, ethnicity, or gender increases exponentially,” says Carladenise Edwards, PhD, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Henry Ford Health System. “We have achieved amazing advances in digital enablement in health care, especially over the last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic challenged us to think and act differently on behalf of our communities. But if the populations experiencing the worst health outcomes aren’t benefiting from those achievements, then our journey is far from over.”

The Digital Inclusion Challenge, which runs through the summer, will kick off May 19, 2021, with a virtual conversation moderated by Edwards about the need for culturally sensitive and unbiased patient-centric solutions to be developed that bridge the gap between health care and technology.

The winner will receive $75,000 in cash and in-kind support toward developing their digital solution at Henry Ford Health System.

“That’s one of the most rewarding aspects of this challenge,” says Martina Caldwell, MD, medical director of diversity and inclusion at Henry Ford Medical Group. “Not only will diverse thinkers and innovators who are truly committed to our shared health equity mission benefit from this challenge, our patients and the communities we serve will see a tangible benefit from the winning idea.”

All entries that address digital inclusion will be considered, with the focus on identifying those concepts that address the biggest pain points for digitally excluded patients. Among them are the following:

how to make health care more affordable and accessible for digitally excluded patients;
how to make it easier for these patients to learn about their health and health care services; and
how to empower care teams to deliver better services to these patients.

“Technology can be a powerful driver for improving access and equity in health,” says Esteban López, MD, market lead of health care and life sciences at Google Cloud. “It’s important for us all to come together to empower innovation and shape the future of health.”

Entries are due by June 24, 2021. Entrepreneurs, clinicians, engineers, designers, and other innovators are invited to participate. The challenge team also plans to partner with international and Detroit-based organizations to actively recruit women and minority applicants. Twenty finalists will be announced in July 2021. That list will be narrowed in late summer to five, who will then participate in a live pitch competition.

“Providing pathways for innovative entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, or others to present their original ideas is critical to ensuring health care models keep pace with changing patient and health industry needs,” says Prasad Lokam, CEO of Miracle Software Systems. “Being a tech savvy company, we encourage the pioneering spirit of those who have a desire to make health care more equitable.”

— Source: Henry Ford Health System