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Dr. Tara Chalakani is the CEO of Preferred Behavioral Health Group, where she leads a diverse organization committed to providing comprehensive behavioral health and substance use services across New Jersey. A proud Latina, Dr. Tara is renowned for her growth-minded and strategic vision, striving to improve the quality, accessibility, and affordability of care. She fosters a trauma-informed and stigma-free culture, ensuring compassionate services for individuals and communities throughout their lifespans.
With over 30 years of experience in the healthcare field, Dr. Tara is a seasoned clinician, educator, public speaker, and podcast co-host. She holds a Doctor of Psychology degree with a specialization in Behavioral Health Leadership from Walden University and serves as an Associate Professor at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. A member of CHIEF, a network for women leaders, and an Approved Clinical Supervisor by NBCC, Dr. Tara is a strategic leader known for her mantra of having “a for-profit brain and a non-profit heart.” She has received numerous accolades, including the Clinician of the Year and the You Make a Difference Award from NAMI.
Dr. Tara co-hosts the Welloff Podcast, where she explores the intersections of mental health, success, and overall life satisfaction. Passionate about mentoring, women’s empowerment, and raising awareness about mental health and trauma, she also owns Peaceful Minds, a private psychotherapy practice in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Specializing in trauma, relationships, and self-actualization, Dr. Tara is an EMDR practitioner, Jungian Sandplay therapist, and Usui Reiki Master. Her dedication to inspiring people and organizations to become the best versions of themselves is evident in all her endeavors.
Preferred Behavioral Health Group is the premier behavioral healthcare organization in central New Jersey, dedicated to fostering mental health and healthy lifestyles across all age groups. The organization offers a comprehensive range of services, including substance abuse prevention for children and teens, counseling, and both outpatient and residential programs for individuals of all ages. Additionally, they provide specialized programs to address the evolving needs of senior citizens.
Laura: Welcome to the Women’s Roundtable podcast, powered by the Think Factory, where we learn how women think big and grow their business. My name is Laura Siclari, a partner with Outside General Counsel Solutions, and I’m the host of today’s episode. On today’s show, we are returning to the mental health world in New Jersey with a phenomenal industry leader. Dr. Tara Chalakani, the CEO of Preferred Behavioral Health Group Preferred Behavioral, is located in New Jersey and provides comprehensive and compassionate behavioral health services and substance use services to individuals over their lifespan. Dr. Tara Chalakani is a clinician and educator, a public speaker, podcast co-host with over 30 years of experience in the health care field. She holds a doctorate of psychology from Walden University with a specialization in behavioral health leadership. If that wasn’t enough, she’s also an associate professor at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, a member of chief, And in May of this year was accepted into Forbes nonprofit council, which is an invitation only professional community for chief executives in successful nonprofit organizations. Dr. Chalakani, welcome to the show.
Dr. Chalakani: Laura. Thank you. I’m so happy to be here. We as well. And I have to tell you, that was a long list of attributes. So I’m really excited about us talking today.
Laura: So you first tell me about preferred behavioral health group, what it does, who it serves.
Dr. Chalakani: Well, that’s one of my favorite questions, because we are too large to have a stereotypical elevator speech of about 10 seconds, and what we do is so expansive to limit us. So thank you for the opportunity to to brag about this amazing organization. We’re almost 50 years old. We serve all of New Jersey, though our roots are in Ocean and Monmouth Counties. We do have a physical presence in 14 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, and we service the whole state via telehealth. We have over 70 programs that serve individuals and families over the life span. We work with children, adolescence, mental health, substance use prevention. We provide traditional outpatient services, intensive outpatient day programs. We have in community programs, in school programs. We have residential programs, just a wide, wide array of offerings to New Jerseyans. And I always say the easiest way to describe who we are is to say that we do everything you can think of as it relates to mental health except having an inpatient hospital.
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