The State of Mental Wellbeing: A Podcast on Mental Health & Substance Use is a weekly series from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing that explores the people, policies and systems influencing mental health and substance use care across the United States. Hosted by Mohini Venkatesh, chief of staff at the National Council, the podcast brings together leaders, practitioners and advocates working every day to strengthen mental wellbeing in their communities and advance the field. Stream our latest episode wherever you listen to podcasts.
How can behavioral health leaders build partnerships that turn complex public-sector challenges into measurable progress? Social Finance’s Jake Segal joins Mohini Venkatesh to explore outcomes-based contracting, prevention, adaptive leadership and cross-sector collaboration. He explains why starting with the result you want can unlock better solutions for mental health, homelessness and other entrenched social problems.
Jake and Mohini break down “wrong pocket” problems, where one organization funds an intervention while another receives the savings, and shows how multiyear agreements can support long-term impact. They examine the limits of value-based care, rigid compliance and one-size-fits-all programs, while making the case for consumer voice, flexible governance and better data. From supportive housing to workforce services to government contracting, Jake reveals how leaders can act amid uncertainty, strengthen public-sector capacity and make small but meaningful changes that improve outcomes for individuals and communities without chasing novelty or perfection.
Listeners will learn:
How outcomes-based contracting can improve behavioral health and public services
Why consumer voice, flexible governance and better data strengthen decision-making
What effective leaders do when evidence is uncertain and systems resist change
How small, strategic changes can produce lasting impact
Jake Segal is Social Finance’s managing director for the public sector practice. He oversees the firm’s work to help governments achieve better outcomes. That work is about connecting money, data, and partners around effective delivery, and linking payment to results.
Follow for weekly conversations shaping mental health and substance use care
14 Oct 2026
How One Coach Is Changing States’ Mental Health Policies
High school lacrosse coach Matt Triplet shares how a player’s mental health crisis transformed his approach to coaching and launched a movement. Learn how Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), honest conversations, and stronger team culture can help coaches recognize warning signs, support young athletes, and connect them with the right help before a crisis dangerously escalates.
In this episode, host Mohini Venkatesh talks with Ohio lacrosse coach and advocate Matt Triplet about how supporting one athlete's mental health led him to drive statewide change. After supporting a player in crisis, Matt discovered MHFA and helped champion Ohio’s requirement that coaches receive mental health training. He explains how coaches can build emotional vocabulary, respond without trying to treat, organize community support, and navigate setbacks in policy advocacy. A practical, inspiring conversation for coaches, parents, educators, and anyone working to strengthen youth mental health.
Content note: This episode includes a discussion of suicide. Please take care while listening.
Listeners will learn:
How coaches can create trust and emotional safety for young athletes
What Mental Health First Aid teaches adults to do when a player may be in crisis
How Ohio made mental health training part of coach certification
How one personal experience can grow into grassroots advocacy and policy change
Matt Triplet is the head boys lacrosse coach at St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, Ohio. He has a professional career in commercial banking and is currently the Policy and Advocacy director for Alston for Athletes.
Follow for weekly conversations shaping mental health and substance use care.
7 Oct 2026
Bonus Episode: Fixing Fragmented Systems on America Trends
For this week’s bonus episode, we’re sharing Mohini's appearance on the America Trends podcast. She joins host Larry Rifkin to examine why mental health and substance use care remains so difficult to access, and how more connected systems can help people get support when they need it most.
Their conversation moves from the human toll of fragmented care to practical paths forward. Mohini explains how state-by-state systems, workforce shortages, licensure barriers and repeated intake processes can delay treatment, especially in rural communities. She also highlights promising solutions, including Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, Mental Health First Aid, peer support, school-based services, primary care integration, telehealth and 988. The episode offers an honest look at persistent gaps while showing how policy, sustainable funding and innovation can build a behavioral health system that is easier to navigate and access consistently.
Listeners will learn:
Why fragmented systems make mental health and substance use care difficult to access and navigate.
How workforce shortages, licensure barriers and geography contribute to delays in treatment.
How CCBHCs, peer support, telehealth and integrated care are expanding access.
Why initiatives like Mental Health First Aid and 988 are essential to early intervention and crisis response.
Larry Rifkin has mastered the language of television and radio over his career in both. Now, he turns his attention to podcasts, which he believes can incorporate the best of both media to create a new form of communication.
Follow for weekly conversations shaping mental health and substance use care.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Contact Wellbeing Wednesdays
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
