Each month on Talking Benefits, I join Julie Stich, Kelli Kolsrud and Justin Held, International Foundation benefits nerdthusiasts, to discuss a trending employee benefits topic we think our listeners want to know more about. World Mental Health Day was observed on October 10, so the team talked mental health—specifically, mental health stigma.
We revisited a past interview with Randy Kratz from FEI Behavioral Health. He explained what employers can do to help fight negative stigmas that may prevent workers from seeking mental health treatment. From peer support groups to making shifts in workplace culture, he and the team provide many ideas on how workplaces can support employees dealing with mental illness.
Throughout the podcast, we reference a number of mental health-related resources, including:
- Our colleague Lois’ blog post on cultivating an environment where people feel safe talking about mental health issues
- This free recorded webcast on how employers can play a leadership role in suicide prevention
- Mental Illness Awareness Week
- Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (Taraji P. Henson)
- Born This Way Foundation (Lady Gaga)
- The “Time to Change” global mental health antidiscrimination movement.
We all have the responsibility to address the issue of mental health and to fight mental health stigma—whether it’s in the workplace, in our family or in our social circle. After all, mental health is health. We hope this episode provides a few takeaways to get started.
Don’t miss a single episode! Subscribe to Talking Benefits on iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts for automatic updates as new episodes are released, or watch for new episodes on the International Foundation website.
Anne Patterson
Social Marketing and Communications Strategist at the International Foundation
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