Resources for Behavioral Health Professionals

Tobacco Free Florida & Florida AHEC have a tailored behavioral health curriculum for smoking cessation that is being utilized with behavioral health partners throughout the state at no cost to the site or participants. It is a 6-week group that meets for an hour and allows for participants to join at any session. The program also provides free NRT to eligible participants. We would be happy to have our staff come on-site and provide these groups and look at getting yourself and other staff trained as Tobacco Treatment Specialists who could then help with facilitation of the groups.  Check out our Resources for Tobacco User with Disabilities.

Established in 2019, the Florida Tobacco Control Community of Practice for Behavioral Health (COP) is a statewide learning collaborative focused on tobacco control in behavioral health organizations. The COP is led by the Florida State University College of Medicine (FSU COM) Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Cessation Program and utilizes peer-based learning, best practices and quality improvement strategies. During the collaborative, organizations have access to experts in tobacco control for behavioral health populations, benefit from peer-based learning and have an opportunity to develop and refine action plans for tracking and monitoring their tobacco control goals.

The COP is comprised of 8-12 behavioral health organizations seeking to enhance their tobacco control efforts.  New organizational members are selected each calendar year, and current/past members are encouraged to participate for as long as the process remains beneficial. Participants have access to targeted training and technical assistance through learning sessions, webinars, action planning, and coaching calls focused on building knowledge and skills to initiate and/or enhance their efforts. 

COP participants engage in an orientation and action plan development meetings (held annually in January or February) which includes educational sessions lead by national speakers on emerging trends in behavioral health and tobacco, and guides participants in developing an action plan for their organization.  Following the meeting, participants engage in 3 group affinity calls throughout the year where technical assistance is provided to progress participants’ action plans. Throughout the COP, participants are encouraged to report their accomplishments, challenges encountered and changes implemented.

Participants benefit by being part of a group of peers working together around similar goals, having access to individual coaching to achieve a better understanding of tobacco control initiatives and polices, and designing processes that will lead to better client satisfaction, compliance and improved clinical services for clients. Participants can expect to enhance organizational efforts in areas such as implementing tobacco-free polices, increasing tobacco use screenings, utilizing tobacco cessation supports, increasing and/or enhancing partnership with behavioral health treatment providers, and expanding tobacco control educational resources.

Karen Geletko, FSU AHEC Program Office: 850-645-1490/ karen.geletko@med.fsu.edu  

Past and Present Organizational Members

Apalachee Center, Inc (Tallahassee)

Banyan Health Systems (Miami)

Broward Addiction and Recovery (Ft. Lauderdale)

Community Assisted and Supported Living, Inc. (Sarasota)

Coastal Behavioral Healthcare (Sarasota)

DISC Village (Tallahassee)

Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Offices, Inc. (Tampa)

First Steps of Sarasota (Sarasota)

Henry and Rilla White Youth Foundation (Tallahassee)

Lakeview Health (Jacksonville)

Jeff Industries (Hypooluxo)

Phoenix House (Citra)

Westcare Guidance Center (Keys)