We’re often striving to achieve balance in life, whether it’s between work and family, necessity and luxury, or other variables often in conflict. The frenetic pace of new discovery can make the effort to find balance even more challenging. Behavioral health specialists aren’t immune to this in their professional lives.
At last December’s Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat West in Scottsdale, Ariz., Sigmund Software’s vice president of sales might have surprised some attendees by talking more about people skills than advances in technology. Cory Valentine drew from his extensive background in clinical care and treatment program administration, saying the most valuable data points in a treatment center are the small cues that can signal a patient’s disengagement from care.
“Why are so many organizations underutilizing the most obvious tools?” Valentine asked. He suggested that many treatment facilities too rarely embrace the idea that noticing patient cues matters — even though these signals can more accurately predict patient outcomes than the scores generated from formal assessment tools.
Valentine urged retreat attendees to establish what he called “a culture of noticing,” striking a balance between relying on technology and reaffirming the importance of human interaction. Technology supports but doesn’t replace human noticing, he said.
Other leaders in the industry have made similar comments recently. In his latest insightful “Tips and Topics” newsletter (January 2026), internationally renowned academician David Mee-Lee, M.D., made the case for a more balanced approach to behavioral health treatment that isn’t weighted too heavily on medication.
“I don’t want to roll back the clock on neuroscience and the successes of psychopharmacology,” wrote Mee-Lee, known to many for his instrumental role in advancing the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s (ASAM’s) level-of-care criteria in substance use treatment. “But I would like to see more balance in the healthcare field and the public’s preoccupation with medication as THE answer.”
His commentary cited research showing that, for example, easily applicable interventions involving exercise and yoga can be impactful in improving physical and psychological well-being in patients with substance use or mental health disorders.
Leaders of the Connecticut-based multi-service organization Liberation Programs issued their own call for balance at a February workshop in Rhode Island, an event designed to promote greater cooperation between traditional treatment and harm reduction groups. The workshop, sponsored by CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, was titled “Bridging the Gap: Changing Culture in the Continuum of Care for Those with Substance Use Didorders.”
The balance between treatment and harm reduction is so obvious at Liberation Programs, and at Connecticut’s other organizations that operate state-funded opioid treatment programs (OTPs), that a client can conceivably obtain methadone dosing and harm reduction supplies in the same visit within the same building.
“Harm reduction is not at odds with traditional treatment,” said Liberation Programs President and CEO John Hamilton. “The right pathway for someone in recovery is the pathway they’re going to buy into.”
