NNews-Aug-2025

August 2025 31 Adtalem Offers Many Options for People to Enter the Behavioral Healthcare Field T he need for behavioral health care is increasing in today’s society; however, there is a growing gap between the need for behavioral health care and the number of providers, especially in places where it can be harder to access all types of healthcare services. One of the many organizations trying to fill the gap is AdtalemGlobal Education. Adtalem, which is one of the newer members of NJAMHAA’s Education Council, is a company that offers resources to bridge the workforce gap through higher education and training. Nicole Hodapp Szydlowski, a Senior Acquisition Manager with Adtalem Global Education, which is Walden University’s parent company, works with NJAMHAA and other advocacy groups to identify which states and which areas are in need of behavioral healthcare services and workers. “I’m going to staff meetings at some of these different organizations to speak with them about our programs, how they can use our students for clinical placement, potentially hire them permanently once they’re in the right place, because we know the challenges of workforce development,” Szydlowski said. “ Our goal is to meet that demand in the mental health services field and address the workforce shortages. So, it’s a process. It’s really just getting the word out through emails, meetings, and newsletters. ” Nicole Hodapp Szydlowski Senior Acquisition Manager AdtalemGlobal Education Walden University, a leading distance learning university and Adtalem member, offers multiple programs designed to teach the next generation of behavioral healthcare providers. Lisa Moon, Dean of the Barbara Solomon School of Social Work at Walden University’s College of Social and Behavioral Health, feels that the growing demand for behavioral healthcare workers is due to the daily stress and strain that is placed on people’s lives. “There’s a given differentiator, I guess I would say, in the fact that people don’t often have access to the resources they need. So, it’s our mission to help solve that by educating mental health technicians to be placed in these agencies so that the services are available to help the people in need,” Moon said. continued on page 32