How Alliance Health Is Transforming Youth Mental Health Access, with Sean Schreiber

In this episode of Self Disclosed, Patrick sits down with Sean Schreiber, Chief Operating Officer of Alliance Health to explain how Alliance is building a care system that’s faster, more community-centered, and deeply personal.

Sean shares his unlikely journey from outpatient therapist to statewide innovator, and outlines the playbook Alliance uses to test, scale, and fund new mental health models. You’ll hear candid reflections on youth behavioral health, Medicaid innovation, system design, and why solving for “just 24 people” is sometimes exactly the right starting point.

We cover:

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⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Life updates, remote work culture & family stories

03:10 – Why people struggle with isolation in remote roles

04:45 – What makes Alliance Health a national model

06:00 – The North Carolina Medicaid structure that enables innovation

07:00 – Why community-rooted orgs move faster than corporates

08:10 – Sean’s origin story: from psychology major to COO

12:00 – The problem with traditional outpatient mental health

14:45 – Early efforts to expand access and reinvent programs

16:00 – What’s improved (and what hasn’t) in the care system

17:20 – How Alliance prioritizes which problems to solve

19:00 – The internal pressure of knowing people are waiting for help

20:30 – How Alliance funds innovation without chasing ROI

22:00 – The playbook for testing new care models safely

24:00 – Why not everything needs to scale to matter

26:00 – The reality of measuring success in complex populations

29:00 – The state’s billion-dollar bet on behavioral health

31:00 – Why youth are underserved in the commercial system

33:00 – How COVID & social media transformed youth anxiety

34:30 – Foster care challenges and systemic failures

36:00 – Sean’s 10-year vision: simple, stigma-free access for all

38:00 – What excites Sean about tech, AI & the future of care

40:00 – Advice for health plan leaders who want to move faster

42:00 – Why serving just 30 people can be the right starting point

44:00 – Sean’s personal legacy and what still drives him

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