Mental Health Liaison Group

What Mental Health Liaison Group does

Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit coalition founded in May 1969 by the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association for Retarded Citizens (now The Arc), National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, and the National Mental Health Association. Originally formed as the Liaison Group on Mental Health, MHLG convenes 100+ national organizations representing people with mental health and substance use conditions, family members, providers, advocates, and other stakeholders to advance federal policy on prevention, treatment, crisis response, and recovery services. The organization is governed by a Steering Committee with elected officers (Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary) drawn from member organizations including American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, American Psychological Association, and The Trevor Project.

MHLG's core deliverable is consensus-based federal policy advocacy rather than a product or service portfolio. Its outputs include congressional briefings, annual appropriation recommendations for SAMHSA, NIMH, NIDA, and NIAAA, position letters, testimony, and Hill engagement events. Work is conducted through standing committees (Health Policy, Budget and Appropriations) and a broad set of workgroups covering telehealth, parity, peer supports, suicide prevention, behavioral health workforce, veterans and military, child/adolescent/education, and bidirectional integrated care. The coalition maintains formalized relationships with the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, the Senate Mental Health Caucus, and federal agencies, including observer participation by NIH institute staff since its founding era.

The organization is membership-funded as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit; revenue, dues structures, and financial filings are not publicly disclosed. Its 11-50 staff support coordination among volunteer leaders drawn from member organizations, who serve as board directors and committee/workgroup co-chairs. Geographic scope is United States only, with no international footprint or product commercialization signals in the input data.

Name

Mental Health Liaison Group

Legal name

Mental Health Liaison Group

Website

https://mhlg.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mental Health Liaison Group is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit coalition founded in 1969 that convenes 100+ national mental health and addiction organizations to advance federal policy through congressional briefings, appropriation recommendations, and bipartisan Hill engagement in Washington, DC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Policy Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health Parity (MHPAEA) Compliance & Reporting (HLAEAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers (HLAFACAI)

Keywords

• Mental health policy advocacy
• Federal appropriations recommendations
• Congressional briefings events
• Addiction services coalition
• Health policy coalition

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) is a nonprofit coalition of 100+ national organizations that coordinates federal policy advocacy for mental health and substance use care. Its deliverables include congressional staff briefings, annual appropriation recommendations for SAMHSA, NIMH, NIDA, and NIAAA, position letters on federal legislation, and consensus-based policy coordination among member organizations.

Product overview

Mental Health Liaison Group is a nonprofit coalition organization (not a product company) that provides advocacy services to advance federal policies supporting mental health and substance use care. The organization offers policy coordination among 100+ member organizations, congressional briefings, annual appropriation recommendations, and policy letters to Congress. MHLG operates through standing committees (Health Policy, Budget & Appropriations) and various workgroups (Telehealth, Parity, Peer Supports, Suicide Prevention, etc.) rather than a product portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Policy Advocacy Services Core advocacy offering of the Mental Health Liaison Group: coordination of federal policy positions across 100+ member organizations, hosting congressional staff briefings, producing annual funding recommendations for SAMHSA, NIMH, NIDA, and NIAAA, and writing position letters on federal mental health and addiction legislation. Intended for member national organizations and federal policymakers (Congress and federal agencies).

Quantifiable outcome

• Produced annual appropriation recommendations for SAMHSA, NIMH, NIDA, and NIAAA since 1993

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Congressional Mental Health CaucuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBipartisan congressional caucus co-chaired by Representatives that MHLG works with closely to advance mental health policy through briefings, events, and coordinated advocacy efforts
• Senate Mental Health CaucuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBipartisan Senate caucus focused on mental health issues that MHLG collaborates with on policy initiatives and hosting of events
• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-disability coalition created in 1973 under leadership of National Association for Retarded Citizens (now The Arc) that maintains a close working relationship with MHLG
• Coalition for Whole HealthsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner that MHLG co-hosts events with, such as the Medicare Coverage of Substance Use Disorder Care briefing

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Trevor Project: Advocacy and direct service organization for LGBTQ+ youth mental health; an MHLG member (Secretary seat) with its own federal lobbying operation focused on youth crisis services, 988, and suicide prevention — overlapping with MHLG's crisis services and youth policy work.
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): Leading suicide prevention advocacy organization that is an MHLG member and holds the MHLG Chair seat; AFSP operates its own federal advocacy infrastructure focused on crisis services and 988 implementation, directly overlapping with MHLG's Suicide Prevention Workgroup agenda.
• The Kennedy Forum: Mental health policy and advocacy organization founded on parity enforcement; an MHLG member (Co-liaison for the Parity Workgroup) that independently drives federal and state policy on MHPAEA implementation — a directly comparable mission and policy scope.
• Mental Health America: Community-based mental health advocacy organization with active federal policy arm; an MHLG member organization that also conducts independent congressional advocacy on parity, prevention, and early intervention — directly competing for the same policymaker mindshare.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): The largest US grassroots mental health advocacy organization; directly comparable to MHLG as a federal policy advocacy entity representing people with mental health conditions and their families. NAMI is both an MHLG member and a direct competitor for Hill attention on similar policy priorities.
• National Council for Mental Wellbeing: Trade association representing mental health and substance use treatment provider organizations; an MHLG member that conducts its own federal advocacy on workforce, parity, and reimbursement. Highly comparable in mission and stakeholder base.

Emerging players

• Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: Legal advocacy organization focused on disability rights and mental health policy; comparable in its federal advocacy orientation but narrower in scope (legal/disability rights lens) and smaller in coalition breadth than MHLG.

Broad incumbents

• American Psychiatric Association: Largest psychiatric professional association in the US; an MHLG founding-lineage member with significantly broader scope (clinical practice, research, workforce) but overlapping federal advocacy on reimbursement, telehealth, and integrated care policy.
• American Psychological Association: Major professional association for psychologists; holds MHLG's Treasurer seat and co-leads the Telehealth Workgroup. Engages in federal advocacy on telehealth, workforce, and integrated care but at much larger scale and broader scope than MHLG.

Others

• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD): Cross-disability coalition that was spun off from MHLG's founding circle in 1973; operates as a parallel coalition structure addressing disability policy broadly. Related but adjacent — overlapping membership and a long-standing working relationship, but distinct policy scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mental-health-liaison-group-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mental Health Liaison Group