By Kathryn Monsey, LCSW
We come together to learn, to teach, to solve problems, and to support one another. Throughout my career, collaboration has taken many forms, but one lesson has remained constant: some of the most meaningful work happens when people come together around a shared mission. There is a certain energy created through gathering that is difficult to replicate in any other way. Whether exchanging ideas or learning from one another’s experiences, these opportunities leave us better equipped to serve our communities. Some of my most important work—both professionally and personally—has happened in those moments of connection.
That spirit is at the heart of the Star Behavioral Health Providers Convening Event. Since its launch in 2022, the event has brought together Directors of Psychological Health (DPHs), Behavioral Health Officers (BHOs), and the SBHP team from across the country to strengthen the partnerships that support Service Members and their families. Because Reserve Component members rely on civilian behavioral health providers at higher rates than their Active-Duty counterparts, strong civilian-military collaboration is essential. To support those connections, SBHP developed a directory of civilian providers who have completed our training and have access to ongoing consultation and support. Through shared learning, professional development, and meaningful collaboration, the Convening Event helps increase awareness of this resource while creating opportunities for partners nationwide to connect, exchange ideas, and unite around our common goal of addressing the unique behavioral health needs of the National Guard community.
One aspect of the Convening Event that I particularly appreciate is our ability to remain responsive to the needs of the field. By listening to the experiences and feedback of our DPH and BHO partners, we can focus on topics that reflect current challenges, emerging trends, and areas of growing interest within military behavioral health. This year's agenda includes discussions on suicide safety planning, lethal means safety counseling, strategic patient management, brief strength-based interventions, structured case management strategies, and skills-based therapies that support readiness and resilience among National Guard members and their families.
Four years later, SBHP remains committed to supporting these dedicated behavioral health staff through a convening event that continues that tradition. At its core, SBHP is built on this collaborative spirit. The DPHs and BHOs of the National Guard are critical collaborators in our shared mission to improve access to high-quality behavioral healthcare for military-connected communities. Convening events like this provide an opportunity to strengthen those relationships, learn from one another, and continue building the connections that help service members, veterans, and their families receive the care they deserve. I am confident that this year's Convening Event will continue to strengthen those relationships and advance behavioral healthcare across the National Guard community.
Interested in learning more about SBHP or have any questions? Please contact us at sbhpsupport_ggg@usuhs.edu.
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Kathryn E Monsey, LCSW, LCDC, is a Military Behavioral Health Social Worker for the Consortium for Defense Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. She assists in the implementation and expansion of the Star Behavioral Health Providers Program (SBHP). SBHP trains civilian behavioral health providers to work with service members, veterans, and their families. The mission is to expand the availability of high-quality behavioral health services, especially for those in the National Guard and Reserve Component.