Recently, the SSW met with Janet Hosford-Lamb, MSW, ’00, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Focused Solutions, LLC, to discuss her generous support of the School’s Behavioral Health and Well-Being Lab (BHWell Lab). The Lab is committed to developing, implementing, and disseminating collaborative research, training, and education. They seek to foster equity by advancing behavioral health and promoting well-being among individuals, families, and communities within and around, Baltimore, the State of Maryland, and globally. They focus on emerging adult and adult behavioral health and well-being, viewed and provided through an equity lens. They also strive to provide leadership in the social work profession while partnering with other disciplines and community stakeholders to translate research into practice and inform future research based on practice experience and community input.
Focused Solutions is a multistate behavioral health counseling and workplace consulting practice headquartered in Maryland. Focused Solutions’ talented staff, workplace consultants, and mental health providers rely on research to speak toward our service innovations.
Here is our interview with her.
Q. As a CEO and senior clinical social worker, what do you see as the benefit of research-informed practice and research at the BHWell Lab?
A. Given the ever-changing global landscape of mental health needs, it’s truly imperative for Social Workers and other mental health practitioners to work in tandem with research. It’s truly a joy to have relationships with the School so that we can keep that momentum going forward.
What we do at Focused Solutions is not only supporting workplaces as part of our service line, but we also support our communities by seeing at least 1,000 clients a month so we are truly excited to partner with the BHWell Lab helping our good work in the future.
Q. You have many choices for your donations, why did you decide to donate to the Lab and create the first endowed fund?
A. You’re right, there are many choices. From my humble perspective, it really is about Dr. Jodi Frey’s (UMSSW’s Associate Dean for Research and Founder and Faculty Executive Director of the BHWell Lab) leadership and experience with her research skills as well as having a history of direct practice work. It certainly leads to a lens that is all-inclusive. The studies at the BHWell Lab really are pragmatic and take into consideration clinical operations. That is truly a way to show success, in my mind, when we implement new evidence-based practices. I really enjoy the way Jodi collaborates with the field and is curious about how to resolve and solve challenges. The School’s Social Work in the Workplace & Employee Assistance sub-specialization at part of its history and Jodi’s knowledge base of delivering practice- and research-based interventions in the workplace supports Focused Solutions and how we provide consultations to workplaces. It’s a joy to have someone who understands both sides of that spectrum.
For example, what Jodi has done with her suicide prevention research has been truly an aid to help guide leaders in business on what they can do to support healthier workplace climates and have a toolkit on how to intervene with employees who might show distress.
Q. Why is UMB the right place for research that can impact the social work profession?
A. UMB School of Social Work has certainly been a top-rated school for many years. Their faculty, staff, and professional networks they work with are truly robust. They have great relations with the business community and the community itself. It really does lend to a caring environment as well. That is what we are looking for.
I encourage other organizations to support the BHWell Lab’s research and development. The lab is filled with talented students, practicing social workers, and researchers that have a wealth of knowledge that can support organizations to provide evidence-based options for practice.
Q. As an alum, how did the school prepare you to see the value and use of research in your work?
A. The school’s curriculum is focused on evidence-based interventions and I really felt like it offered several opportunities to participate in research studies. When I studied at the school, there were research studies connected with businesses. That was an interest to me—providing mental health interventions at the workplace. Research can inform practitioners about helpful interventions to improve the environments they support, such as workplaces, and, of course, the needs of our clients and communities, too.
Q. What do you see as an important research field in the future?
A. I think we have an opportunity to do focused research in Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI will impact the workforce and the well-being of the workforce. How to manage through, from a leadership perspective, the integration of the AI phenomenon in the workplace.
To find more information on the BHWell lab, please visit www.bhwelllab.ssw.umaryland.edu. Focused Solutions, LLC is on the web at focused-solutions.com. If you also wish to support the BHWell Lab and its important efforts, please reach out to Jodi Frey at jfrey@ssw.umaryland.edu or make a gift directly at our site: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/27668/donations/new?a=5588681 (type “BHWell” in the Areas of Support dropdown).