Photo Caption: Graduates, Instructors and other Southwest Behavioral & Health Services staff with Cepand Alizadeh, Director of Community Relations for Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.

(PHOENIX – Jan. 20, 2020) – Southwest Behavioral & Health Services (SB&H) celebrated recent graduates of the 200 and 300 level courses of Recovery College in a ceremony on Jan. 9. Recovery College offers educational courses about mental health and recovery which are designed to teach positive psychology strategies for their own personal and professional growth at SB&H and to support their work with the organization’s members.

“Everything we do is focused on inspiring people to feel better and reach their potential,” said Southwest Behavioral & Health Services CEO Steven Sheets. “When we help people discover their strengths and give them the tools to be their best, we improve the community around us. I congratulate all of the graduates on a job well done. It’s a rigorous course and they did it!”

The goal of the Recovery College is to provide increased educational opportunities to enhance learning, as well as meet the demands for continuing education. Currently, Recovery College provides ongoing continuing education and training services in the behavioral health field for clients and staff.

Mayor Kate Gallego’s community relations director Cepand Alizadeh attended the event and presented a congratulatory letter praising the organization’s efforts to make Phoenix a mental health friendly city. Added Sheets, “We appreciate the Mayor’s recognition of our tireless effort to make Phoenix a leader in mental health advocacy. Our organization will continue to deliver innovative approaches to care and champion the behavioral health needs of our community.”

The recent graduates of the Recovery College are all SB&H staff members. In order to complete the program, the graduates participated in classroom and online engagement – in addition to their regular duties as employees of Southwest Behavioral & Health Services.

About Southwest Behavioral & Health Services:

Incorporated in 1974 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Southwest Behavioral & Health Services provides services in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, rural Maricopa County, Gila, Mohave, Coconino, and Yavapai counties. Our Mission: “We inspire people to feel better and reach their potential. Through helping people discover their strengths, we improve our communities.” SB&H offers an array of programs to meet the unique needs of the communities we serve. These include outpatient mental health treatment and psychiatric services including medication monitoring; assistance for persons with addictions; intensive inpatient care for persons in crisis; residential housing, in-home and supported housing services; prevention services, community outreach and school-based counseling; services throughout the lifespan for members with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); and four opioid replacement clinics throughout the state that are working tirelessly to save lives and help alleviate the statewide crisis. More recently, integrated care and value-based contracting have been initiated to offer a more flexible and culturally sensitive approach to clients served and resolve the historical challenges of fragmented care. For more information on SB&H, please visit www.sbhservices.org.

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