Dr. Clayton Chau Appointed to the SAMHSA Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee

Well Being Trust
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read

Consistent with the ongoing trajectory of Well Being Trust and its leadership, we are excited to learn that Dr. Clayton Chau, of Well Being Trust and Providence St. Joseph Health, has been appointed to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee.

In our attempt to position Well Being Trust to influence the broadest policy agenda possible, we strive to put our leaders in various positions that will allow us to have the most profound reach and bring about change. One of the goals of Well Being Trust is to advance the dialogue around mental health in our cars, in cafés, communities, and in Congress. Dr. Chau’s participation in this commission solidifies that attempt to broaden the dialogue, as well as the attempt to be present in locations where we are best able to help direct the movement around mental health and wellness.

This newly created commission, handpicked by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, is charged to help address issues around individuals who have more serious mental health needs.

Dr. Clayton Chau is the Regional Executive Medical Director for the Mental Health Network, Providence St Joseph Health System, Southern California Orange County/High Desert Region. Previously, he was the Senior Medical Director for Health Services at LA Care Health Plan. He has conducted international trainings in the areas of health care integration, health care system reform, cultural competency, veteran’s health, trauma, homelessness and mental health policy. Among his many other honors and achievements, Dr. Chau was named the 2012 Visionary Leader by the National Council for Behavioral Health, and received, in that same year, the prestigious Warren Williams, MD Award “for his extraordinary contributions to the profession of psychiatry and the care of those with mental illness.”

Dr. Clayton Chau’s perspective, experience, and leadership is invaluable to Well Being Trust in its mission to address the following goals:

  • Ease access to care and to the determinants of well-being.
  • Build resilience in children, teens and families.
  • Reduce suffering from depression, anxiety and social isolation.
  • Decrease addiction and substance use, while promoting recovery.
  • Create hope for people and families living with serious and persistent mental illness.
  • - Eliminate stigma everywhere, and grow a culture of well-being in healthy, equitable, resilient communities.

We applaud our federal partners in addressing these critically important issues around mental health and wellness. It is our hope that committees like these can help increase the dialogue around mental health and erase the separate histories of mental health and physical health nationally.

For more information on Well Being Trust: http://wellbeingtrust.org

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Well Being Trust

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Well Being Trust is a national foundation with a mission to advance the mental, social and spiritual health of the nation.

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