Implementing mental health practices in real-world settings rarely goes exactly as planned. Adaptation is a necessary and powerful part of successful implementation. This series brings together nationally recognized implementation science experts to help behavioral health leaders, practitioners, and program developers understand how to thoughtfully adapt mental health practices while maintaining fidelity to what works.

Participants will explore why adaptation matters, how it unfolds across different phases of implementation, and how to track and evaluate adaptations to strengthen impact over time. If you’re launching a new practice, refining an existing program, or supporting system-level implementation, this series offers practical guidance to help programs adapt to their context and more effectively meet the needs of the people they serve.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand the concept of adaptation and its importance in the implementation of mental health practices and programs.
2. Identify key principles of approaches to adapting evidence-based mental health practices.
3. Learn about practical methods to facilitate the evaluation and analysis process.

Presenters: Ana Baumann, PhD, Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, PhD, and JD Smith, PhD