The Heart Behind the Work

At Strategic Pulse, our CEO Shahyan Shabbir brings more than strategy to the table; he brings purpose. As a passionate mental health advocate and disability inclusion champion, Shahyan has lived and worked at the intersection of healthcare and systems transformation. That perspective shaped this engagement from day one. For us, this wasn’t just about the process; it was about impact.

Client Snapshot

A fast-growing, multi-site behavioural health provider in Texas with over 100 staff and $10M+ in annual revenue. Offering psychiatry, therapy, and specialised programs, the organisation had clinical depth but was now constrained by digital limitations, unclear operating structures, and a lack of actionable data.

The Challenges

Operating in a U.S. behavioural health market projected to grow from $92.14 billion in 2025 to $132.46 billion by 2032, and within a $1B+ Texas segment, the provider faced escalating internal and external pressures:

  • Complex Operating Model & Organisational Structure: Fragmented leadership roles and no Target Operating Model made decision-making slow and scaling difficult.
  • Disconnected Systems & Limited Visibility: Manual workflows and siloed platforms (EMR, billing, scheduling) restricted performance tracking, with little usable data flowing to leadership.
  • Underutilised Specialty Programs: Programs like Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Specialised Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) lacked referral automation or PHQ-9 logic, limiting ROI visibility and capacity planning.
  • Weak Digital Footprint: No structured content strategy, low online conversion, and weak SEO resulted in missed patient acquisition, especially as competitors captured up to 75% of bookings digitally.
  • Cultural & Clinical Strain: Staff burnout, morale issues, and lack of engagement mechanisms left leadership blind to early warning signals.
  • Uncertain Technology & AI Readiness: While evaluating EMR upgrades or replacement, the provider lacked a clear requirements framework or roadmap to adopt AI and automation meaningfully.
  • Compliance & Cybersecurity Gaps: Basic HIPAA compliance was in place, but risk ownership, access control strategies, and incident response structures were underdeveloped.
  • Competitive Pressure: National and regional players like Talkiatry and Cerebral were setting the pace with stronger digital brands, cleaner UX, and integrated service models.

Strategic Pulse’s Role

The provider partnered with Strategic Pulse to conduct a whole-of-organisation diagnostic across five critical business domains. The goal was to surface hidden inefficiencies, clarify strategic priorities, and create a practical, data-informed roadmap for transformation.
We conducted in-depth discovery sessions with executive leadership, reviewed internal systems and processes, and benchmarked performance against competitors and market leaders.
Throughout, our team focused on where data wasn’t flowing, where AI could reduce cost or friction, and where decisions were being made without insight.

🔍 What We Listened For

  • Friction: What processes are draining time and money?
  • Visibility Gaps: Where is leadership flying blind?
  • Cultural Strain: What’s being felt but not said?
  • Digital Latency: What’s taking too long to see or respond to?
  • AI Readiness: Where could automation or insight create a step change?

🔬 Discovery Insights by Area

1️⃣ Strategy, Leadership & Growth Alignment

  • Leadership cadence was informal; strategic goals weren’t embedded in operational planning.
  • Data wasn’t used consistently in leadership meetings.

2️⃣ Technology, Systems & AI Readiness

  • Reporting was manual; systems were siloed; EMR use was inconsistent.
  • No defined process for evaluating AI readiness or digital maturity.

3️⃣ Patient Retention, Staff Culture & Program Delivery

  • No dashboards tied to program ROI; PHQ-9 scores were not being leveraged.

4️⃣ Digital Experience & Marketing Funnel

  • No SEO, minimal campaign structure, and no attribution on digital leads.
  • Competitors had clear messaging, faster onboarding, and omni-channel targeting.

5️⃣ Cybersecurity & Compliance

  • Controls existed but were fragmented; risk management was not centralised.
  • No data governance policy for access, encryption, or response planning.

🛠️ Final Output: A 3-Phase Strategic Roadmap

Strategic Pulse delivered a phased roadmap aligned to OBH’s current state, appetite for change, and commercial constraints.

  • Phase 1 – Deliver Quick Wins & Define Strategy

    • Strategic alignment workshops
    • Solution architect to assess IT and EMR
    • Initiate marketing uplift and dashboard blueprint
    • Start internal reporting rhythm
    • Begin digital and culture benchmarking

  • Phase 2 – Plan & Design

    • Design new Target Operating Model
    • Develop data infrastructure and financial reporting structure
    • Identify and prioritise AI pilot projects
    • Map future-state workflows and SOPs

  • Phase 3 – Enable & Scale (for future activation)

    • Pilot AI-based automation (triage, reporting, communications)
    • Full marketing funnel deployment
    • Consolidate systems and activate real-time performance visibility

Each phase was supported by role mapping, dependencies, and quick-start cost estimates, creating a roadmap OBH could act on when ready.

✅ Outcome

  • A way forward to gain clarity on leadership rhythm, reporting, and organisational structure.
  • Proposed approach to future-ready EMR and systems strategy aligned to growth.
  • Strategic framing of AI and automation use cases with impact mapping.
  • A compelling digital and marketing transformation model.
  • Confidence to prioritise, sequence, and budget change internally.

📣 Why Strategic Pulse

We combine business strategy, data, digital, and human-centred design shaped by real-world experience in mental health, disability, and transformation. Our work helps you go from guesswork to grounded action, fast.

If you’re ready to scale your behavioural health practice with clarity and confidence, we’re ready to help.