Paul Doher, National Director of Clinical Quality at Acorn Health, has been named a 2025 Future Leader by Behavioral Health Business.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40 years of age or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and an advocate for patients and older adults, and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Doher sat down with Behavioral Health Business to share what drew him to the behavioral health industry, the biggest leadership lessons he has learned, his thoughts on the future of home health & home care, and much more. To learn more about the Future Leaders Awards program, visit https://futureleaders.wtwhmedia.com/.
BHB: What drew you to the behavioral health industry?
Doher: The opportunity to make a meaningful impact in people’s lives is the biggest reason. I started as a special education teacher in public schools and while that experience was similar to what I am doing in the behavioral health industry, I saw opportunities to do more and be better at what I do, and transitioning into behavioral health provided me with those chances.
BHB: What’s your biggest leadership lesson learned since starting to serve this industry?
Doher: Really taking time to identify my own personal values, because those values guide my leadership and decision making. Before that, I knew I wanted to do good, but I was a little lost in how. A mentor of mine introduced me to the concept of leading with values, and it has helped ground me in what is important.
BHB: If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of the behavioral health industry, what would it be?
Doher: I think we need to stop talking about emphasizing quality and do more acting on it. A lot of people talk about how important it is, but many decisions are made without quality in mind. Quality metrics need to drive care more than operational metrics that influence the bottom line. Finances keep the lights on, but if we arent delivering service with a high level of quality, we’re hurting our field and more importantly, we’re not taking our jobs seriously. There are people taking steps to lead us in the direction (i.e. NASQN) but as a field we can do more.
BHB: In one word, how would you describe the future of behavioral health?
Doher: Tenacious.
BHB: If you had a crystal ball, what do you think will impact the behavioral health industry now and into 2026?
Doher: Demonstrating our value on a large scale and holding people accountable for engaging in acts that harm the field and the people we work with. The industry is being looked at more closely from a regulatory standpoint and a lot of bad actors are being called out for unethical and inappropriate behavior, and I worry about our field’s reputation. I think weeding out the people who are in the industry for the wrong reasons is important, and as a field we need to tighten our measures to ensure things like billing exorbitant fees for poor services is a thing of the past.
BHB: In your opinion, what qualities must all Future Leaders possess?
Doher: Be a learner, not a knower. Don’t think you have all the answers, and surround yourself with good people.
BHB: If you could give advice to yourself looking back to your first day in the behavioral health industry, what would it be and why?
Doher: Nothing lasts forever. The good times and the bad times all come to an end at some point. Don’t take for granted the times when things are going well, and be resilient when they aren’t.