Meet Me in St. Louis

The substance use and mental health treatment and care field has undergone a massive transformation over the past few years and shows no signs of slowing down.

We’re all racing to keep up — whether it is with demand, regulations or advancements in technology. While it may seem daunting, these changes present new opportunities.

In a few weeks, I will join thousands of hard-working National Council for Mental Wellbeing members and many others throughout our field at NatCon24 in St. Louis, April 15-17, to talk about those opportunities, because they illustrate how so many of you are shaping the future.

I want to share the stories about members who are expanding access to care by beginning new programs to serve historically underserved populations.

I want to share the stories about members who are opening new clinics so people in a mental health crisis have somewhere to go and aren’t discarded in jails.

So many National Council members are paving the road to change through innovative new approaches, and NatCon24 is our chance to highlight their great work and learn from each other. Those networking opportunities make what is the biggest event in our field so valuable.

While the networking opportunities bring us together, the educational opportunities and access to information supplement our training and skills, further enriching our work. I find out every day that I have so much to learn because of the advancements in our field. It may be challenging, but it’s fascinating as well.

This year we have more technology presentations than ever before. These discussions are intended to help you understand the potential of artificial intelligence and how it can support your work.

With the workforce and talent management a top-of-mind issue, this is also a focal point of the conference education. In addition to discussions on staffing, we will have an inspirational presentation from Marcus Buckingham, who will share how to center your career around the things you love and that most engage you.

We have so many more presentations on topics that address the life-saving issues you deal with every day — substance use and recovery; harm reduction; youth mental health; rural health; public and population health; suicide and crisis care; integrated care and clinical care; peer supports; and recovery housing. You can check out all the tracks and find detailed information on each presentation.

We will also host the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Summit on April 14. This is our forum for Mental Health First Aiders to learn new skills and techniques, hear from MHFA thought leaders and connect with fellow Instructors, Coordinators and National Trainers.

NatCon is also an opportunity to support those in this amazing field. It’s an opportunity for me to applaud the work of National Council members because I’m your No. 1 fan. But I’m not alone — our Board of Directors supports you every step of the way, and they’ll be at NatCon24 to engage with you, along with our Strategic Leadership Team, senior staff, directors and consultants participating in presentations and workshops.

And, speaking of applause, we will present Awards of Excellence to five distinguished recipients of our Peer Specialist of the Year Award, Lifetime Achievement Award and the first-ever National Council Legacy Award.

It is an incredible time in our field — let’s celebrate this and one another at this special event.

Register here and meet me in St. Louis.