Hello everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Perspective Matters: This Week in Behavioral Healthcare. I’m your host Glenn Hadley with Southworth Associates. I just want to take a brief minute to thank our sponsors not only for the show but also for the upcoming event, “Perspectives: A Time For Change.”
We’re just really grateful to have Southworth Associates, Dreamscape Marketing, the Guest House Ocala, Cumberland Heights, Vista Research Group, Ken Seeley Communities, Sober Escorts, Maple Mountain Recovery and many, many more be part of this event. We’re glad… really glad… to have them onboard and we’re not able to bring you this content without their help so definitely go to their websites and check them out.
Normally on the show, we interview an expert in the field… somewhere between clinical, operation, business development, public policy… and we ask them about mentors and how they got in the field and things like that. But today, we’re going to do something a little bit different. I say different but this is kind of going back to the roots of the show.
Back in November of last year, as we were preparing for Innovations In Recovery in San Diego, I realized that the conference was such a big idea. We were building this continuum of care. And I didn’t think a flyer would do it justice so we started doing this show to highlight different pieces of that. And so today, we have our conference coming up at the end of this month, “Perspectives: A Time for Change.” And it’s the same thing. It’s a really big idea. It’s this virtual conference that we’re doing that’s different from some of the other virtual conferences you’ve experienced.
Rather than just put a flyer out and hope that you get it from that, I wanted to come on and tell you a little bit about our event and what you can expect at “Perspectives: A Time For Change.”
A little bit about these virtual events. So that same conference I was telling you about a little earlier, “Innovations in Recovery,” we were really excited to put that on. It was going to be the first weekend in April in San Diego. We did a lot of work to create this continuum of care and COVID-19 hit and it changed it all in a matter of a few weeks.
As I was working remotely, I remember sitting in a home office kind of upset about what we were going to do. So I called the guys up at Dreamscape [Marketing] in Baltimore and I asked them, “Hey, can we go ahead and transition this event to a virtual event?” And I’ll tell you something… it blew away everything I could have hoped for in it. We switched it to virtual and our attendance quadrupled. It was the largest event we’d ever had previously. It allowed so many more people to attend. The speaker sessions had 500–600 people in each session, which was phenomenal. And it just made the information more accessible.
What we’ve done in the meantime is that we’ve built our own virtual events platform and we’ve hosted a number of other events in the meantime. Some of the things we’ve experienced in doing our own, as well as attending others, was that there’s something we were missing in this virtual world, and it’s that interaction between attendees and the speakers. What we get in these in-person events, whenever we were there at the hotels and in the exhibit halls and in the sessions, is the ability to collaborate and interact. What we’ve done over the past few months is try to build that and incorporate that into what we’re doing with Perspectives: A Time For Change.
I want to go over some of the features today and give you an idea of what to expect. Look, we have a fantastic lineup of speakers that range all over the place. They’re from the clinical side of things to operational. Like I said, we’ll get into some marketing and business development. We’re going to talk about COVID-19. We’re going to talk about some public policy. We’re going to dig into some pay relations, which is such a big topic right now with it comes to managed care and things like that. I’m really excited about the offering we’re giving as far as the speaker content.
Some examples… so, our opening keynote [speaker] Al Smith and Randy Grimes, these are two NFL veterans that are going to come in, and are going to talk… we’re going to have a conversation around the use of painkillers and in performance in athletes and what it was like to experience that, both as a player and on the other side of things. Al is one of the directors of the NFL alumni association and has actually witnessed some of the new programs that are out there to help athletes as they’re walking through some of the challenges related to substance use.
Also, we’re going to have Judy Crane and Tom Pecca. They’re going to go through kind of an immersive journey in relationship to trauma and substance use treatment. And this is going to be our first real collaborative session of the conference.
One thing that I really miss about being there in person is being in the audience, right? And being able to ask questions and see the speakers face to face and collaborating… build something together. This collaborative session, we’re calling it “The Trauma Heart Collaborative.” You’re going to get to be there in like face to face with Judy and Tom. They’re going to tell a couple of stories but then you’re going to get to participate and communicate with them back and forth. We’re going to promote you… if any of you guys are familiar with the way some of these work… we’re going to promote some of you to be panelists. So you never know… if you attend this thing, you may actually get to promote it into the conversation and be a part of building something together in this collaborative. I’m really excited for that.
Later on, one of the collaborative sessions is going to be Dr. Andrew Krieger and Dr. Stephanie Carreiro, and they’re going to talk about the use of technology in treatment. One of the things that we’ve seen with the COVID-19 pandemic is that we’ve been thrust into this new world of technology and using it to deliver care.
And so, they’re going to host a collaborative session where all of us are going to be involved, and we’re all going to get a chance to talk about how we’re using technology to help our patients and what that looks like. So you’re not going to want to miss that.
We’re also going to have Michelle Morris and Stan Bumgarner, who are going to explore the different methods to address grief in the treatment process. We also have one of the heroes in this field—for me, one of my heroes personally—is Dr. Scott Miller. He’s going to talk about using deliberate practice to improve effectiveness. I remember reading his book, The Heart and Soul of Change, which talked about what really works in treatment, and I’m really excited to have him be a part of this event.
Those are just some highlights of day one. Please go to the website and check out perspectivesatimeforchange.com and check out the rest of the lineup. I’m going to be highlighting different speakers as we lead up to this event in a few weeks. Go check out the rest. Like I said, that’s just day one of the speakers.
Getting back to this collaborative piece… I’m a real big fan of the face-to-face interaction that we get at conferences. And so at Perspectives, we’re going to have many different collaborative sessions spaced out throughout the event where you’re going to get to participate and be a part of the creation of this idea. I’ve got moderators and panelists that are experts in the different topics, right? But you’re going to get to be a part of it. I think that this collaboration between presenter and attendee is a big part of what we’re missing in conferences. And so we’re going to produce that at Perspectives.
I encourage you to look through the agenda that we have, and any that you see “collaborative” in, those are ones you get a chance to be a part of. You’re going to get a chance to ask questions live, face to face with the presenter. So, check those sessions out.
Also, I don’t want to leave our exhibitors and sponsors out. We’re going to have a real exhibit hall with real exhibit booths. The one thing that I think is really important is to get that experience of walking through the exhibit hall. Going to people’s booths and checking them out. Our booths that we’ve created on our virtual events platform are actual booths. You get to click on it and it takes you to different places. You can check out the exhibitors and the vendors and get a chance to see who they really are.
One thing I know about in-person events… when I’m walking through the exhibit hall… is I go talk to the different facilities and they tell me what they do, right? They talk to me about who they are, what they do and the different services they offer. But what I really get a sense of whenever I’m talking to them is the people that work there, and how the people really make the provider, make the facility, and make the service something special.
Our exhibit hall and our exhibit booths really are going to give you the chance to do that. You’re going to get a chance to meet the exhibitors… the providers… whether it’s in a face-to-face interaction where you actually get to enter into a meeting and talk with them about what they do. You’re going to have some video interactions. They’re going to have ways to go to their social media channels. They’re also going to be able to present videos.
You’re really going to get an idea of who these exhibitors and providers are just like you would at a real event. This isn’t going to be something like where you just click and go to a web page. You’re actually going to feel like you’re there, so I’m really pumped about that. It’s something different that I haven’t seen often at other virtual conferences.
Speaking of the exhibit hall… what would an exhibit hall at a conference be without a contest, right? We’re really excited to present this exhibit hall contest. You’re going to get to go through and collect points in our exhibit hall by visiting the vendors, talking with them, and finding out more information about them. But here’s the kicker… we know that you guys have all been busy… it seems like most of us have been busier than we’ve ever been through this pandemic and we really need a break, right?
And so what we’ve done is… our exhibit hall contest… we’re giving away a three-night stay at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. It’s where we’ve hosted our conferences for a number of years and we definitely want to get back there. It’s a phenomenal location. We figured what better way to tie it into this event than by giving away a three-night stay at The Breakers? And so, we encourage you to participate… be a part of the contest. You’ll get to go through and talk to vendors and exhibitors and you’ll enter for that three-night stay. Definitely take advantage of that. We’re really excited to present that to you, and hopefully give one of you-all a break and get back to the beach.
Another reason why you’re going to get a chance to take a break after this event is that we’re offering 41.25 CMEs or CEs, whatever you’re looking for. Those are enduring CEs for those of you guys who want for this event. You’re also going to get 23.25 live CEs… so there’s a difference between the enduring and the live. So that’s 41.25 enduring and it’s 23.25 live. Where else can you get that many CEs or CMEs for $150? (More information on Continuing Medical Education credits)
If that’s not enough, we’re also partnering with the Florida EAP… so the next weekend after Perspectives, they’re offering, I believe, 13 CEs for that event… so you can get 13 more for another $100. Definitely check that out. Be looking on the radar for the Florida EAP event so that you can combine both and, in two weeks, you can get a slough of CMEs and CEs to satisfy your accreditation. Then, you can go to The Breakers after that and have a break, right? So, pretty excited about that.
Another feature that we’re offering at Perspectives is we’re going to feature the Excellence In Treatment awards. This is the second year that we’re doing this. Last year at Moments Of Change, we started this. It’s a way for us to feature providers that are out there doing good work, and that are really focused on outcomes… and providing outcomes.
So, this is going to be a whole part of the conference. You’ll get a chance to go in and see the award winners. You’ll get to see the acceptance speeches. You’ll get a chance to see who’s really doing the good work out there. We’re excited to present the second annual Excellence In Treatment awards as part of our conference.
Another feature that I’m really pumped about for our event… another way to interact is when you go to the exhibit hall, we’re going to have topic message boards. If any of you guys are familiar with Reddit, it’s going to be similar to that. We’re going to have different topics, such as the impacts of COVID-19 on treatment and outcomes, substance use treatment legislation, treating substance use disorder with trauma… we’re going to talk about marketing… business development… we’re going to talk about abstinence-based treatment, MAT and harm reduction and how they work together. And we’re going to talk about managed care and behavioral healthcare.
Those are all going to be different topics where you’re going to get to pose your solutions… you’re going to get to pose your questions… and we’re going to interact as a group in these collaborative chat boards.
I definitely encourage you to check those out. Go to the exhibit hall, post what you’ve been doing during COVID, post some of your questions, ask other industry leaders and therapists and providers out there how they’re navigating this new normal, so to say. This is just another way we’re going to get to interact.
One of the last features that I want to throw out there is… this is a live event we’re hosting… the 26th through the 29th of October… but the conference will be offered for the next 30 days afterwards. The site will be up, you can go in and get your CMEs and CEs for this event 30 days after the conclusion of the event. So you don’t have to just make it live. If you can only make one of the sessions at a time and you want to go check out the other ones, you can go back to it. We encourage you to do that. Now you don’t have to miss any speakers at a conference. You can see every single one if you like.
So that’s just a taste of what we’re offering. In the coming days, we’re going to do more of these features. We’re going to show you guys a little bit more about the virtual experience and how you get to interact as an attendee. You don’t just get to watch and it’s one-way communication. This is something where we’re all going to come together and we’re going to build together in this event.
I encourage you to be a part of it. Register now at perspectivesatimeforchange.com… I’ve got the website up there… go check it out. Also, if you have any questions for me or any of us who are putting this on, you can email me at [email protected]. I’d love to chat with you. I’d love to answer your questions about this virtual experience and hopefully we can come together and build something together as a group and collaborate in this event.
That’s going to be the show for today. Once again, I’m just really excited about our upcoming conference. Please check it out. Ask us questions. Please come be a part of this event. Remember that no matter what, whether it’s in behavioral healthcare, whether you’re working in the public policy sector or you’re out there just really helping others, remember that it is a matter of perspective. And where else to get other perspectives… change your own or share your perspective… than at a big national conference like this that we’re presenting? With that, please go check out perspectivesatimeforchange.com and we hope to see you at the event.