Thank You To Our 2025 Sponsors

Executive Connect

As part of the Executive Connect program, qualified executives from providers or operators may apply for this ticket type and participate in a set number of meetings with pre-screened vendors at the event. If accepted, you will be granted a complimentary ticket to the event and required to attend scheduled meetings at the event and provide feedback on those meetings. *A refundable deposit is required to register and is refunded if you attend the required meetings at the event. No show or cancellations will forfeit the deposit, no exceptions.

Behavioral Health Business (BHB) presents for the fourth installment of the annual INVEST Conference, the premier event bringing together owners, operators, and investors of behavioral health practices for two-days of networking and dealmaking. Attendees will hear from leading executives and industry experts shaping the field of investments, mergers and acquisitions, operations, and more.

In 2025, the BHB INNOVATE Conference became a part of the INVEST Conference.

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by The Braff Group

Networking Break

Piecing It Together: Understanding the (Still) Highly Fragmented Outpatient Mental Health Market

Overlooked Areas for Behavioral Health Investment

Lunch & Networking 

Keys to Creating Value in the Next Chapter of the OBOT Industry

Breakout Sessions

Networking Break

Interested in Speaking?

BHB events provide an opportunity for industry executives to share their knowledge and expertise with our audiences. Submit your contact information if you’re interested in learning more about speaking opportunities.

GOLD SPONSORS

Past Attendees

Here's a sample of last year's INVEST attendees:

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

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Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by DLA Piper

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Mertz Taggart 

Breakout Sessions

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Polsinelli

Catching Autism Therapy’s ‘Next Wave’

Margin Mayday: Surviving Behavioral Health’s Cost Crunch

Beds & Bricks: The State of Residential+Inpatient Behavioral Health Care

Breakout Sessions

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Holland & Knight

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Intrepid 

Breakout Sessions

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Netsmart

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Medtrainer

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Breakout Sessions

Networking Reception, Sponsored By

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Pax Health

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Breakout Sessions

Investing in and Scaling Youth Behavioral Health Models

BHB+ Breakfast

Networking Break

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Sunwave

The Business Case for Youth Behavioral Health

High Stakes Require Smart Steps: Breaking Down IOP & PHP Strategies

Breakout Sessions

Panel Coming Soon - Sponsored by Kipu

How Non-traditional Investors Are Shaking Up the Behavioral Health Ecosystem

In this session, panelists will discuss marketing strategy, channel tactics, capital allocation, and data driven decision-making to drive growth and success for behavioral health providers.

Join BHB and Dreamscape President Dan Gemp as they discuss the results of the 2023 Behavioral Health Marketers' Survey, including the 4 pillar challenges facing behavioral health marketing heading into 2024. Drawing on the nearly two decades of addiction treatment digital marketing experience that has driven over $3 billion in admissions revenue, Dan will share with operators and marketers the path to organizational growth by addressing the changing landscape of marketing tools, how to stand out in a competitive environment, marketing to a modern audience, and how to effectively allocate budget for maximum ROI. 

Buy, Build or Bail: Investor Perspectives on Behavioral Health

Interested in Sponsoring?

We provide sponsors an intimate setting to promote their brand and develop relationships with industry movers and shakers.

The Great Reset: Exploring Today’s Behavioral Health Market

After years of record-breaking growth and M&A activity, the behavioral health sector is experiencing a reset. Unfavorable interest rates, shifting payer dynamics, labor shortages and increased regulatory scrutiny have disrupted many of the assumptions that once underpinned investor and operator confidence. Yet amid the volatility, new opportunities are emerging for those who adapt.

Despite the influx of capital over the years, outpatient mental health remains fragmented and operationally inconsistent. This panel unpacks the next evolution of the space, highlighting where operators are finding growth, how investors are underwriting risk and what separates long-term winners from one-dimensional roll-ups.

As outpatient-based opioid treatment continues to evolve, operators must navigate shifting reimbursement, patient engagement challenges and payer dynamics to drive long-term value. In this session, leaders from three such companies share their insights on where the OBOT market is heading and how providers can best position themselves for sustainable growth.

Not all opportunities in behavioral health are getting the spotlight – yet. This panel will explore the products, service lines and care models that investors and operators may be underestimating today, but that could represent the next big wave of innovation and growth. From emerging levels of care to niche populations and tech-enabled supports, learn where forward-thinking stakeholders are starting to pay closer attention.

The autism services market is entering its “next wave” of investment and dealmaking activity. But for those looking to get in on the action, they should know this wave will be far different from the first period of industry consolidation. Operators and investors must now navigate accreditation mandates, staffing challenges and increased payer scrutiny – all while rethinking traditional care models.

From crisis stabilization to long-term recovery, inpatient and residential care remain critical components of the behavioral health ecosystem. This panel brings together leaders from both the mental health and SUD treatment arenas to discuss how they’re approaching facility planning, reimbursement strategy and integrated care delivery that supports both populations.

With rising labor costs, limited rate increases and sky-high operating expenses, behavioral health operators are under pressure. This panel explores how leading organizations are using tech, staffing models and other strategies to protect margins while maintaining – or even improving – quality.

This panel explores how non-traditional investors are dramatically reshaping the behavioral health landscape through strategic capital deployment and innovative partnerships. Industry experts will examine how major health systems, payer organizations and corporate venture arms from both health care and non-health care sectors are bringing fresh perspectives, unique strategic advantages and significant resources to the behavioral health world.

Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) are held up as the middle ground between high-price, high-acuity facility-based care and low-cost, less-structured outpatient settings. Heightened interest by investors, payers and providers alike demands consideration. This panel will break down what everyone needs to know about an ascendant care setting.

Serving children and adolescents is mission-critical, but margin-challenged. High staff ratios, complex family dynamics, and already-spotty reimbursement make youth behavioral health a tough segment to scale—even in the best of times. Forward-thinking investors and providers see long-term potential. This panel tackles the hard truths and smart strategies behind building a sustainable, youth-focused behavioral health platform in an era of fiscal uncertainty.

Private equity interest in behavioral health remains high, but the strategies are shifting. In a market defined by rising costs, payer pressure and valuation recalibration, investors are making tougher calls: double down on existing platforms, pursue opportunistic add-ons or walk away altogether. In this candid discussion, three seasoned PE leaders will share how they’re approaching the current cycle – what makes them pursue a deal, pass on one, or pivot their strategy.

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Breakout Sessions

Breakout Sessions

It Matters How You Start: Growing an Autism Therapy Co. from 1 Location to 10 – and Beyond

The ever-growing demand for autism therapy services is calling mission-minded professionals to jump into entrepreneurship. Learn the lessons that leaders of new and early-stage organizations need to know starting out in their journey.

The Rise of Nonprofit M&A in Behavioral Health

Nonprofit behavioral health providers are increasingly entering the dealmaking arena, whether affiliating with larger systems, joining forces with other nonprofits, or converting to for-profit status altogether. This panel will explore the unique dynamics of nonprofit M&A, with insights from provider execs and other industry leaders who are experiencing this trend first hand.

How Medicaid Is (Re)Shaping the SUD Treatment Space

The Trump administration and GOP members of Congress have advanced several new Medicaid policies in 2025, from straightforward cuts to new regulations on how states tax stakeholders as part of their state share. The Medicaid changes can have an outsized impact on addiction treatment providers, in particular. This panel will explore how SUD providers are adapting to the new Medicaid landscape and planning for the future.

Phoenix Rising: Building a Mental Health Venture from the Ashes of First Failure

This candid panel brings together entrepreneurs and investors who have experienced significant setbacks in the behavioral health space only to rise again with stronger, more resilient ventures. Our panelists will share raw, unfiltered stories of their initial failures – whether from flawed business models, premature scaling, regulatory challenges, or misaligned market timing – and the critical lessons these experiences taught them.

Pharmacy’s Expanding Role in Behavioral Health Innovation

Pharmacy providers are playing an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the behavioral health market, from medication management and adherence support to partnerships that accelerate care innovation. This panel will explore how behavioral health pharmacies and pharmaceutical stakeholders are driving clinical outcomes, enabling emerging care models, and influencing the future of behavioral health treatment and service delivery.

Innovation in Care Delivery: Models Breaking the Mold

Tech-enabled hybrid models, mobile-first care, virtual IOPs – care delivery innovation is accelerating. This panel will spotlight companies rethinking clinical pathways, care settings and reimbursement strategies to improve outcomes and unit economics.

The Untapped Opportunity: Strategic Investment in Women's Mental Health Innovation

This forward-looking panel explores the significant yet historically underserved market of women's mental health and the compelling investment opportunities it presents. Industry leaders will examine how gender-specific mental health needs – from reproductive mental health and hormone-related mood disorders to trauma recovery and caregiver burnout – represent both substantial unmet clinical needs and untapped commercial potential.