NJAMHAA News - October 2021

October 2021 24 The COVID-19 pandemic changed many things for behavioral health service providers and the individuals they serve. At the beginning of the pandemic, providers rapidly shifted to provide telehealth services and NJAMHAA has been working to ensure that policy and waivers were put in place to support that. With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the rise of the Delta variant, one thing is certain: Behavioral health providers cannot simply return to how things were before the pandemic; they must move forward in a new paradigm. Providers can learn what they can do to move forward by attending the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies’ (NJAMHAA’s) 2021 Fall Conference, No Going Back, Moving Forward in a New Paradigm , on October 13, 2021, which is sponsored by Mutual of America. Keynote Launches Conference with Insights into Trends andMaking theMost of Them A very compelling and fitting start to the conference will be a keynote presentation, The Decade of 2020: This Is our Moment, by Susan Dreyfus, BA, of Susan Dreyfus Consulting. Dreyfus will identify the current trends and issues in the behavioral health field. When determining whether a trend is long-standing or a “fad”, Dreyfus watches for three things – the trend’s staying power, how innovative the trend is and how policymakers, influencers and the media are beginning to discuss it. “If I were a CEO or board member today, I wouldn’t watch trends only to see if they are real or not. I would begin having generative discussions with my team, board and other partners now so we can think, plan and move as adaptively and quickly as possible. Even if the trend doesn’t move forward, there is always something to learn and consider,” says Dreyfus. There Is No Going Back; We Are Moving Forward in a New Paradigm October 2021 We will not only bend the cost curve of health care, but we will also have healthier people and communities - Susan Dreyfus, BA Susan Dreyfus Consulting