NNews October 2024

4 October 2024 NJAMHAA Interview with Tony Comerford NJAMHAA asked Tony to elaborate on the importance of each of his priorities for providers and the individuals they serve, NJAMHAA and the entire behavioral healthcare system, as well as generally how he aims to achieve these goals. Tony identified these top priorities: Following are the insights, vision and strategy that Tony shared: For many years, I’ve citedwhat is now research-supported evidence that engagement is an absolute requirement if any intervention is going to be helpful. Basically, if you can establish a therapeutic alliance, just about anything will work if the client believes it will. This has also been shown to be true in physical health care to a great degree. If you don’t have that alliance, nothing is going to work, regardless of any evidence base. I believe this foundational principle also applies in the realmof social psychology where well-targeted psychoeducation can play a role in dispelling unsupported myths about behavioral health and treatment that may interfere with NJAMHAA backs up its advocacy and promise by: • Providing membership organizations with access to training and educational opportunities that build expertise and improve results. [ Visit the Events section of www. njamhaa.org for information about upcoming conferences andwebinars. ] • Building for the future with initiatives such as the New Jersey Mental Health Institute (NJMHI) Leadership Academy for Behavioral Healthcare Professionals. [ See details on page 2 0. ] • Reporting on the membership’s aggregate outcomes and its significant contribution to the overall well-being of New Jersey’s Citizens. [ These details are also in the Annual Report . ] NJAMHAA continues to build upon the great, targeted advocacy and support structures it has in place. These include and are not limited to: NJAMHAA Board Chair Dr. Anthony Comerford Shares Focus on Servant Leadership, Greater Collaboration and Increased Visibility someone’s willingness to get help. I think we can all play a role by establishing both internal and external communication cultures that are clear in describing what we do and how and why it can be helpful. Our skills in this growwith the regular solicitation of feedback in all of our interactions that can start with the basic question: “Was this helpful?” Our communications and the work we are paid for will both be improved over time if we internalize this way of being. (continued from page 3) • Sufficient funding for all behavioral health care and support services to ensure their effectiveness and access for all. • State policies and regulations to confirm sufficient funding is sustained over time and regulation and licensing structures support rather than interfere with the efficient and effective delivery of services. [ For details onNJAMHAA’s impact, please read the FY2024Annual Report , Transformational Leadership with Powerful Results, which can be accessedwith the QR code on the right. ] • The vertical integration and coordination of general and targetedmessagingwith the U.S. Congress, State Legislature, and State Divisions and Departments. • LeveragingNJAMHAAmembership participation to give volume and weight to advocacy support. [ Please see details on membership meetings, practice groups and councils o n page 5 1 . All employees of member organizations are strongly encouraged to participate. ] NJAMHAA’s FY2024 Annual Report 1 Servant leadership 2 Greater collaboration 3 Expansion of NJAMHAA’s exposure to the public