Clinical & Support Options Earns Two Honors

NORTHAMPTON — Community behavioral health agency Clinical & Support Options (CSO) received double honors recently — one from a leading trade organization in recognition of its clinical outcomes and another stemming from survey results of its own staff.

The Assoc. of Behavioral Health (ABH), a trade advocacy group, has been a leading voice for mental health and addiction services in Massachusetts for more than 30 years, and its annual Salute to Excellence awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field.

This month, CSO will receive the Excellence in Outcomes Award for its work “driving a bold and sustained commitment to integrating, supporting, and evolving evidence-based practices throughout all programs and service lines.”

The honor recognizes CSO’s commitment to ensuring that clients across Western and Central Mass. receive care based on the most effective, research-supported practices.

According to ABH, Clinical & Support Options emphasizes peer learning, reflective practice, and the use of real-time feedback to ensure services are always improving. Staff also rely on standardized tools to measure progress and adjust care based on each client’s needs.

“At CSO, our approach to service is one grounded in the belief that individuals deserve access to the most effective, research-supported treatments available,” President and CEO Karin Jeffers said. “This recognition is not only a tribute to the committee’s leadership, but also to the dedication of every staff member at CSO who brings best practices to life in their work each day.”

CSO’s approach includes a wide range of evidence-based models, such as trauma-focused CBT, the ARC framework, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and medication for opioid use disorder. These methods are reinforced through ongoing supervision, learning collaboratives, and monitoring to ensure high-quality care.

“We believe that excellence begins with staff,” said Senior Vice President of Programs Karen Poisson, chair of the best practices committee. “Our training infrastructure ensures that all personnel, clinical and non-clinical, are equipped to implement EBPs effectively.”

Meanwhile, in June, CSO engaged third-party HR technology firm Energage to conduct employee surveys on a variety of topics. More than 450 CSO employees (two-thirds of its workforce) voluntarily provided feedback about the agency on topics ranging from interdepartmental cooperation and room for growth to pay and benefits.

The results were impressive, earning the agency the Energage designation of Top Workplace in Healthcare.

More than 86% of CSO employees agree with the statements, “my job makes me feel like I am part of something meaningful” and “my manager cares about my concerns.” Nearly 80% see the agency as operating by “strong values.”

“Our staff members are the reason CSO continues to thrive in such a challenging environment,” Jeffers said. “Recruiting and retaining behavioral health professionals is not easy, but our team shows up every day with skill, compassion, and resilience. Their commitment ensures that families across our region receive the highest-quality care, no matter the obstacles.”

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