The ACT-In-ACTion Symposium 2026 brought New York’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) community together in Troy, NY, September 29– 30 for two days of learning, recognition, and connection. Guided by the theme “ACT in ACTion: Where Relationships Drive Recovery,” the conference welcomed over 200 representatives from all five regions—New York City, Central New York, Western New York, Hudson River, and Long Island—whose participation reflected a shared commitment to strengthening recoveryoriented care.
A Seat at the Table. A Voice on the Team.
The 2026 ACT Peer Specialist Retreat brought Peer Specialists together for a day centered on empowerment, connection, community, and recognition of the invaluable role of peer support within ACT. This year’s retreat focused on a powerful message: Peer Specialists deserve both a seat at the table and a voice that is heard.
The 2026 Role-Based Retreat, held at OFFSITE in New York City, was a dynamic and inspiring gathering that brought together Family Specialists, Substance Use Specialists, and Vocational Specialists from across New York State. With representation from all five regions, the retreat was a powerful reflection of the diversity, expertise, and shared commitment that define ACT teams statewide.
See what's new at the ACT Institute
The theme for this year’s retreat was "Wellness and Self-Care." This theme is important because working on an ACT team can be challenging, and as human service workers, such as Peer Specialists (PS), we tend to care for those we serve but may forget to take care of ourselves. We discussed ways to practice self-care and promote wellness.
We are announcing the release of a New Training Module. This module introduces three new roles you may find on New York State ACT Teams.
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Exciting News!!! New Training Curricula Launching for ACT Teams!We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the new training curricula for three new(and pre-existing) roles on ACT teams! Starting January 27th, you will be able to access the curricula for the Assistant Team Leader, Mental Health Specialist 1(Clinical), and Mental Health Specialist 2 (Paraprofessional-Versatile Role) throughour Learning Management System.
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Inspired by her own recent career transition, Mya Haley wanted to invite ACT Peer Specialists (well, CPI Peer Specialists, really) to join her in a discussion around what it means and costs to be a Peer Specialist, what happens to that piece of identity when and if we leave our roles and the challenges that even bring one to leaving the role
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The 2024 ACT Symposium! We joined colleagues from across the state on September 24 & 25, 2024 at the Conference Center in beautiful Lake Placid, NY for the NYS Office of Mental Health and ACT Institute for Recovery-Based Practice ACT Symposium.
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People with lived experience can work in many positions but what does it mean to hold the role of Peer Specialist and then leave the role of Peer Specialist in pursuits of growth, passion, wellness?
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One of the commonly requested resources from the recent SUD/Integrated Treatment survey distributed to ACT Team Leaders and Substance Use Specialists was current information on common substances of use and treatments.
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Mya has worked for the ACT Institute for the past 3 years in the role of Peer Specialist Trainer & Implementation Specialist, challenging the understanding of mental health and wellness as someone who has been psychiatrically labelled.
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As you may know, there are many IPS training resources available to you through the CPI Learning Management System (LMS). In addition, the LMS also has several resources to help you learn more about the ACT model, core values, and practices.
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Join your colleagues from ACT Teams across the state! Systems are transforming with a focus on integrated care and specialized ACT Teams. Together we can share and learn best practices and discuss what this transformation means for ACT teams. This symposium will explore ACT as an evidence-based model; its core practices, operations and structure; ACT team dynamics, and much more.
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The ACT Institute is pleased to announce a Townhall for all New York State ACT Team Members that will focus on team member safety, primarily physical but also pyschological and emotional safety.
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Please join us on July 16th at 1 PM (and every 3rd Tuesday at 1 PM) for an open forum to discuss the new ACT/IPS Initiative. The forum is open to ACT leaders, vocational staff, other ACT team members, as well as agency-based IPS employment specialists to raise questions and discuss their implementation efforts. The floor will be open.
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The ACT Institute appreciates the support of our 2023 interns (Geetha & Rainie). The insight and experiences shared throughout the year have been invaluable and added much value to each project to of which they contributed.
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The ACT Institute is happy to announce that we have joined three social media platforms. We encourage your team and your agency to FOLLOW US TODAY!!!
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We are excited to share information about a workforce development program entitled Improving Providers’ Assessment, Care, Delivery and Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (IMPACT-OCD) which focuses...
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ACT Institute celebrates 20 years of providing training and implementation support for ACT teams in New York State...
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The annual ACT Team Leader Retreat, hosted by the ACT Institute, was held on Friday, October 27th at Offsite in Midtown Manhattan....
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Welcoming Allashia...
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2023 ACT Peer Specialist Retreat...
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