Center of Excellence

The vision of the St. Louis Regional Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health is to improve the service system in the St. Louis region for people with serious behavioral health disorders, thereby improving the wellness and recovery outcomes for persons with these disorders. We also envision improving the knowledge and skills—and indeed the health and well-being—of the workforce of those who serve them.

Core functions

These three core functions guide the Center of Excellence

  1. Improve the workforce—including policy makers’—knowledge, skills, and practices about evidence-based practices, best practices, and promising practices
  2. Demonstrate service excellence and provide needed access to services to people with serious behavioral health disorders by operating a core set of Evidence Based Practices and best practices to individuals within Places for People’s service area
  3. Generate new knowledge and better practices for providers and the service system through applied research and evaluation.

Upcoming training

Pursuit of Happiness
A free, eight-week program
August 5 – September 23

This comprehensive program includes a number of skills, strategies, and practices that have been demonstrated in research studies to significantly improve happiness in studies with the general public.

The program will include eight one-hour interactive workshop sessions from 12:30-1:30 p.m. via Zoom.

The program will be led by Gary Morse, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development at Places for People. Dr. Morse has served in the mental health care field since 1981, providing behavioral health services, researching and developing best practices, administering programs, consulting, and training. The focus of Dr. Morse’s professional work has been to reduce the suffering and improve the wellness of people living with mental health disorders. Julie Blanco, Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the St. Louis Regional Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health, will serve as facilitator for the series.

For more details, visit the event page.

Training Opportunities

The Center of Excellence’s key personnel and “faculty” have extensive expertise in a wide range of behavioral health Evidence Based Practices training content and implementation experience that can be shared with providers, agencies, and system leaders throughout the St. Louis region.

Contact Center of Excellence Director of Training and Technical Assistance Julie Blanco to discuss opportunities for agency- or team-centered trainings.

Speaking Opportunities

Our experts are available to speak about Evidence Based Practices, best practices, and promising practices, in a variety of areas.

Our goals in these engagements are to share knowledge, raise awareness, decrease stigma, and promote compassion.

It’saboutcontrol removingstigma

At Places for People, we know recovery from mental illness and substance use is possible. We help individuals find their place in the community.

It’saboutwhat’s wrong whathappened

At Places for People, our Youth and Family Services program is dedicated to including all of the youth’s natural resources to affect positive change.

It's abouta diagnosis a life

Our dedicated professionals work in collaboration with the individuals they serve. This is one way Places for People provides a human approach to health + healing.

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Our Approach to Healing

By combining human connection with evidence-based care, Places for People understands, empowers and supports people living with mental illness and substance use disorders.

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