Overview

In this interview, Mary Brite, Chief Operating Officer of Outreach Development Corporation, discusses how behavioral health leaders can navigate continuous change by anchoring to mission clarity, building strong organizational structures, and fostering a culture of listening, communication, and resilience.



Interview Transcript

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

David Minot: Hi, and welcome to the Behavioral Health News Spotlight on Excellence series, where we feature exceptional leaders and innovative health care solutions that are raising the standards of care in the behavioral health community. My name is David Minot, and I am the Executive Director of Mental Health News Education, the nonprofit organization that publishes Behavioral Health News and Autism Spectrum News. Our mission is devoted to improving lives and the delivery of care for people living with mental illness, substance use disorder, and autism, while also supporting their families and the professional communities that serve them.

Today, we’re speaking with Mary Bright, Chief Operating Officer at Outreach Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that provides residential and outpatient behavioral health treatment to youth, adults, and families, and CASAC (Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor) services in New York City and Long Island. I’m also proud to say that Mary is a valued Board Secretary at Mental Health News Education. Mary, thanks so much for being here today!

Mary Brite: Thank you for having me, David. I’m very excited about our conversation!

David: Behavioral health organizations face change constantly, from both internal and external pressures. How can they keep things steady and stay focused on their mission? What kinds of leadership approaches or mindsets help guide staff through uncertain times?

Mary: This is a very pertinent question, particularly in the post-COVID world. One of the biggest shifts leaders have to make today is recognizing that change is no longer an occasional disruption – it’s the operating environment. Behavioral health organizations are navigating regulatory shifts, workforce pressures, evolving reimbursement models, and rapid technological change. Because of that, stability can’t come from things staying the same; it has to come from clarity of mission and strength of structure.

There’s a concept often discussed in futurist thinking called the acceleration of change, described by John Smart. It suggests that as systems evolve, change happens faster and more continuously. In many ways, behavioral health leaders are experiencing exactly that. It means we can’t treat change as a temporary phase to get through. I know I’ve been guilty of that in the past – thinking, let’s get through this change and land in a place of stability. But it’s different now. We have to design organizations that are capable of adapting continuously.

To put it in perspective: a farmer in the 1600s used tools that were almost identical to those of a farmer in the 1400s. In pre-modern times, people had generations to learn and perfect their tools. With the industrial age, there were more changes, but people still had years or decades to adapt. In the technological age, some technologies introduced during a person’s childhood may be obsolete by adulthood. Entire industries can transform in five to ten years – we saw that with COVID. I feel like it was around March 20th, and within a week and a half, we were doing telehealth, which we hadn’t done before. New tools, platforms, and processes now appear in months, not decades.

So for leaders, we have to be mindful of providing both operational clarity and emotional steadiness. The leaders aren’t often enacting the change – the change is coming externally, and they have to receive it and communicate it to staff without showing their own uncertainty. They have to demonstrate emotional steadiness so they can give staff clear roles, clear systems, and a strong understanding of mission. Structure creates safety during uncertainty. When people understand the purpose of the work, they can absorb change without feeling destabilized. In many ways, the leader’s role is to anchor the mission while allowing the methods to evolve.

David: Staff turnover and changing roles are challenges across the healthcare industry. What strategies have you seen work well for keeping staff engaged, helping them manage stress, and keeping teams connected – especially with ongoing hurdles like new regulations, shifting funds, or changing client needs?

Mary: Workforce pressures are really the defining challenge in behavioral health right now. As demand for services continues to rise, workforce supply has not kept pace. Because of that, organizations have had to become very intentional about how they support their teams.

The most important strategy, and I do think it’s a strategy, is listening – not just active listening as a courtesy, but treating listening as a strategic practice. It really does improve both morale and decision-making. You can get information from data, but the qualitative insight you get from staff helps leaders understand what’s happening day to day.

Communication is also critical. You’re receiving information and then communicating it out. The challenge is that in times of uncertainty, silence can breed speculation – and speculation can take people’s minds wherever their own framework leads them. I remember once coming back from vacation, and a client said, “How was Florida?” I hadn’t gone to Florida, but in his mind, vacation equals Florida. That happens for all of us. If there’s a vacuum of information, we fill in the gaps. Transparent communication, even when leaders are still working through solutions, builds trust and helps teams feel included rather than uncertain.

I’d also add two other elements. First, I find it helpful to frame challenges through the model of the circle of control, circle of influence, and circle of concern. As you move outward through those spheres, your ability to affect outcomes decreases. If we stay focused on our circle of control, we’re more likely to maintain resilience. When we spend our energy in the circle of concern – worrying about things we have no control over – we struggle more.

And finally, we have to be mindful that change fatigue is very real. We are in a continuous-change culture now. Leaders need to recognize that behavioral health staff are balancing organizational shifts while also managing emotionally demanding client work. Staff are more likely to remain engaged when they feel heard, informed, and connected to the mission – when they know where they can enact real change and where it may be frustrating. And leaders need to understand that a training doesn’t fix change fatigue.

David: Are any of these challenges exacerbated by remote work?

Mary: I think they can be. Six years post-COVID, we’re all used to remote work, but think about how it unfolded. When COVID came, remote work and telehealth were going to save the world – everyone was happy, more productive, everything was great. Then we started seeing fractures. The pendulum swung back toward the office, and there was a lot of negotiating between workers and leaders about hybrid arrangements. My point is: we’re still in continuous change with that too, and it does add another element of challenge.

David: With new reimbursement models, integrated care expectations, and rapidly changing technology, how can leaders adjust their strategies in ways that strengthen care and support staff, rather than creating disruption?

Mary: Behavioral healthcare is entering a period of significant structural change. We get information one day, and the next day it shifts – or we’re told something is coming but not when or how. And we still have to maintain care quality for our clients and staff effectiveness. We can’t let that be disrupted.

One way we do that is by focusing on structure and systems. Strong systems create a stable foundation that allows organizations to innovate without chaos. When roles, workflows, and expectations are clear, introducing new technology or integrated care models becomes much easier – you’re placing a new idea or method on top of a framework that already exists.

Another key factor is helping staff understand the purpose behind the change. When reimbursement models shift or new technology is introduced, it’s easy for those changes to feel purely administrative – like leadership is simply issuing a mandate. We have to connect those shifts back to care quality: how integrated care improves outcomes, how data helps measure effectiveness, how technology can ultimately support clinical work.

Now, I’m not saying every staff member will immediately understand and fully agree. People don’t go into behavioral health to think about data and technology. But it’s the reality of the world we live in now, and it has a lot to offer. Listening plays an important role here as well. Staff often have very practical insights on how systems function in real life, and that feedback loop allows organizations to adjust their strategies.

I also want to caution: this takes time. It’s not a light switch. You’re changing hearts and minds – particularly in our field, where people went into human services to work with other people. I think we’re mostly on board overall, but when it comes to practice, it requires finessing as you move staff toward your goals in this area.

David: What core elements or pillars help a behavioral health organization stay strong during uncertain times? Can you share examples from Outreach where these pillars were tested and held up?

Mary: I would say mission clarity. For Outreach, that is: we take care of clients. “Building healthy lives” is our tagline. After clients come staff. Then I would say structure – clear role delineation – communication, and organizational culture: a culture that values collaboration, listening, and shared problem-solving. What you’re seeking through all of this is resilience.

Change is going to keep rolling in. In my 26 or 27 years with Outreach, I’ve never seen more change than in the last ten. It started with Medicaid redesign, then COVID brought enormous change, and internally we had significant leadership change – twice in ten years.

What I’ve seen is that if you come back to the core mission – what I call my North Star – you’re guided toward good decision-making even as programs, regulations, and service models evolve. Structure is not the opposite of flexibility. I really believe in structure because once the big rocks are in place, you have room in between to be flexible, and that allows you to adapt more effectively and be more resilient.

At Outreach, staff had to adjust to different leadership styles rapidly. We have a large number of staff who have been with us for a decade or more, and they had to navigate shifting priorities more than once. They’ve done a fantastic job. Because they stay focused on clients and are very clear on the mission, they’re able to weather change. Whenever we get jumbled up in the details, we pull back and say: we help clients. That reorients everyone to why we’re here and what we do.

Then there’s communication: regular program updates keep the whole team aligned, even during significant change like leadership turnover. And culture: it’s important to have an organizational culture that values collaboration, listening, and shared problem-solving. That last part – shared problem-solving – is easy to say and harder to actualize. It requires real trust: trust to say, “I can’t figure out this solution,” and trust to lean in and help. Organizations that build collaborative teams have staff who feel more supported and connected to the mission, which means they’re more capable of navigating uncertainty together.

So the pillars, I would say, are mission, structure, communication, and culture. That creates the foundation that allows organizations to adapt while remaining stable.

David: It sounds like this is one of the reasons why Outreach has such great staff retention.

Mary: I really think so. We hire people with heart.  Everything else is very important, but the fact that we have heart for our clients is number one.

David: Do these principles apply equally across substance use disorder treatment and mental health, or are there meaningful differences?

Mary: I want to say it is the same. I don’t see a difference in navigating change and continuous change – which I really believe leads to continuous adaptation. We’re asking people to always be flexible, and I don’t see a distinction between SUD and OMH settings when it comes to these principles.

David: After everything we’ve discussed, what gives you the most hope about the future for behavioral health organizations and their ability to stay mission-driven and effective through all this change?

Mary: The beautiful thing about behavioral health is that we are change agents. We help our clients change – we show them that they become more of themselves as they change. It’s challenging because the work is so hard, both emotionally and administratively. But we are change agents, and I think we are very well-equipped to meet the demands of a continuously changing environment.

What gives me the most hope is the resilience and dedication of the people who work in our field. They don’t get paid all the money in the world. They need advanced degrees, which are not inexpensive, and the pay doesn’t reflect that. I think so highly of people who choose to help others as their life’s work.

Despite the pressures our field faces – growing demand, workforce shortages, ongoing regulatory complexity – there is an incredible commitment among providers to continue improving care for individuals and families. Mental health and substance use challenges are growing, and communities increasingly recognize the importance of this work. That creates opportunities, and I’m enthusiastic about that.

My hesitation is that we have so many good ideas emerging that it can be challenging to avoid scope creep – to land on a direction and move in it rather than trying to do everything at once. But I do think organizations that invest in adaptability will be well-positioned in the future. Stability and adapting are not opposites; they complement each other. If an organization has a clear mission, strong systems, and open communication, it can evolve without losing its purpose.

I really think the future of behavioral health will belong to organizations that design resilience intentionally, rather than improvising it. I believe many organizations, including Outreach, are already moving in that direction.

And I’ll be candid about one other concern: I’d love to see education programs – and they’re probably already working on this – give future behavioral health professionals foundations not only in direct client work, but also in the administrative demands of the field. When I went to social work school, we learned how to be with clients, and they told us to remember that 50% of our time would be spent on administrative work. Today that reality is even more pronounced, and programs need to help students prepare for both. But we have a dedicated, passionate workforce, and I think we’ll get there.

David: And of course it’s all about building health lives!

Mary: Yes, it’s all about building healthy lives at Outreach. We love it!

David: Well, I want to thank you for your time, Mary. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you and learning more about the important work you and your team are doing to strengthen behavioral health care, especially at Outreach.

If you found this conversation valuable, I encourage you to visit behavioralhealthnews.org, where you’ll find a wealth of information on important mental health and substance use disorder topics, including in-depth articles, resources, and more interviews with leaders in the field. You can also subscribe to receive our quarterly issues and stay informed about the latest developments in behavioral health.

Once again, thank you all for joining us today, and stay tuned for our next installment of the Behavioral Health News Spotlight on Excellence Interview Series.