Myth buster: You can't change your organization's culture, so don't even try

Thomas F. Hilton, PhD

August 1, 2016

Organizational cultures often resist change. But that doesn't mean that cultures can't change.

Organizational culture refers to beliefs, values, and norms commonly held among an organization's members. Describing their organization's culture, staff might say: "This is the way we do things around here."

Organizational cultures are a good thing. Commonly held beliefs and values are important because they tend to minimize the likelihood that individual staff members are working at cross purposes. Cultures also help to ensure that staff members consistently apply effective and efficient ways to achieve organizational objectives. Commonly held beliefs comprise the "tried and true" ways staff members achieve mission goals. Each time a practice produces good outcomes, its value as tried-and-true increases, along with the likelihood that it will be used again in a similar situation. As beliefs and values become more widely held, they become reinforced throughout the day by social norms.

Connect People to Care at the NFAR Technology Summit

Nancy A. Roget, MS

Project Director/Principal Investigator

National Frontier and Rural ATTC 

The National Frontier and Rural (NFAR) ATTC is hosting its 4^th Annual Technology Summit in Wilmington, Delaware on August 3-5, 2016

The focus of the 2016 Technology Summit, Mind the Gap: Using Technology to Connect People to Care is to help practitioners bridge the gap between knowledge and skills. All breakout sessions are designed to promote skill development. The following are some tips to help participants have a successful experience at the NFAR Technology Summit.

Can you moderate your drinking? There's only one way to find out

July 12, 2016

Ned Presnall
Executive Director
Clayton Behavioral
Adjunct Professor, Washington University

"The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death." (The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 3)

The founders of AA suggest that attempts at moderation provide the best litmus test for alcoholism. In their view, drinkers that are able to cut back without abstaining are not alcoholics because they haven’t become powerless over alcohol.