Workplace mental health and the compliance landscape –connecting leaders, legal, and HR: Part I

Republished with permission from International Thought Leadership

By Judge (Ret.) Mary McClatchey and Sally Spencer-Thomas, Psy.D., MNM

Photo by Helloquence

In recent years, thought leaders in business, government, and risk management have developed a sophisticated understanding of the bottom-line impacts of untreated mental illness in the workplace. For example, mental health and brain science dominated the agenda at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2015. And, the National Business Group on Health held its first CEO Mental Health Summit in October 2015. Among the costs highlighted in these forums: worker productivity loss, high health care utilization rates, skyrocketing disability outlays, and employment litigation.

To further advance mental wellness in the workplace, it’s essential for legal and human resources to be part of this collective effort. Here, we explore this disparity in approaches and discuss why it is so harmful to the interests of all – employers, insurers, employees, and their families.

What most thought leaders know about workplace mental health, in a nutshell, is this:

1)      mental illness is common and treatable, with a 25percent incidence rate and an 80percent recovery rate akin to chronic physical illnesses;

2)      early detection and treatment are the most effective and inexpensive means of helping employees get well and return to full productivity quickly; and

3)      if an employee takes a leave of absence, the longer the absence, the less likely the employee is to return to work.

Thus, the organizational strategic imperative is to create workplace conditions designed to enhance early detection and treatment, restoring the status quo as efficiently as possible.

In stark contrast to this organizational imperative, legal and human resources professionals often advise supervisors, managers, and EAP professionals to treat potential emotional and mental health issues exclusively as a performance matter. This advice is usually driven by a desire to “avoid an ADA claim.” However, this approach usually postpones the inevitable, making an ADA claim more, not less, likely.

The avoidant approach often results in this pattern: a continuing decline in the employee’s condition and work performance, a severing of trust between employee and supervisor, and isolation from others at work. Once a disciplinary action or performance improvement plan is imposed, both parties cut ties and a toxic cycle of leave of absence, disability claim, a request for accommodation, a failed interactive process, separation of employment, and/or either litigation or a pay package results. This is an expensive, disruptive, and painful process that can often be avoided.

Employers would do well to consider this as an alternative approach:

Design a mental health policy that will unify executive leadership, legal counsel, and human resources around the organization’s strategic approach to overall wellness.

A.             This policy defines the vision, and the business case, for improving the mental health of the workforce and utilizing the ADA interactive process as an effective means of achieving early detection and treatment of these impairments.

B.             Training for supervisors, managers, legal counsel, HR, EAP staff, and health care providers will highlight: a timely and collaborative exchange of information and interactive process maximizes success; the ADA does not require a fundamental alteration of any job; work teams and supervisors need to partner with HR on making accommodations work.

C.             The policy will establish a confidential process for employees to obtain affordable, accessible treatment (either through existing vendors or through curated referrals).

D.            Developing and implementing the mental health policy can stimulate and engage your organization in a discussion of the high incidence of emotional and mental health impairments and how these common, treatable conditions can be accommodated.

E.             Integrate Mental Health 101 Training into total wellness programs, including how to mitigate and address stressors in the workplace, how to respond to a colleague or supervisee who may be struggling, and how to seek help confidentially.

F.              Designate and train Mental Health Champions who are available as confidential resources to anyone at any point in the chain of command dealing with a mental health issue. 

When executive leadership, legal counsel, and human resources unify behind a strategic, business-savvy approach grounded in total wellness and ADA compliance, everybody wins.

Insurance Thought Leadership’s ongoing series of articles focused on suicide prevention is authored by the Workplace Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the public-private partnership championing suicide prevention as a national priority.

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About the Authors:

Judge (Ret.) Mary McClatchey, President of WorkSmart Partners, has three decades of experience as a judge, employment law attorney, workplace mediator, organizational consultant, and trainer. Her company provides employers with transformational human resources, employer compliance, flexible work, and mental health programs. An innovator in workplace mental health programming, Judge McClatchey speaks often on the business and legal case for early detection, accommodation, and treatment. As a Senior Administrative Law Judge for the Colorado State Personnel Board, McClatchey decided and mediated federal and state employment and civil rights claims for 15 years. She also served as General Counsel for the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, has litigated extensively, and has founded, grown, and served on the boards of several community organizations. McClatchey is a member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Workplace Task Force.  She can be reached at mary@worksmartpartners.com.

Sally Spencer-Thomas. As a clinical psychologist, mental health advocate, faculty member, and survivor of her brother's suicide, Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas sees the issues of suicide prevention from many perspectives. Currently, she is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Carson J Spencer Foundation, a Denver-based organization leading innovation in suicide prevention. One of the main programs of the Carson J Spencer Foundation is “Working Minds: Suicide Prevention in the Workplace” – the nation’s first comprehensive and sustained program designed to help employers with the successful prevention, intervention and crisis management of suicide (www.WorkingMinds.org). Additionally, she is the Co-Lead of the Workplace Task Forces for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, and the Co-Chair of the Workplace Special Interest Group of the International Association for Suicide Prevention. Sally@CarsonJSpencer.org

Crisis Leadership Following Death by Suicide

Republished with permission of Insurance Thought Leadership

Photo by Benjamin Child

Suicide breaks all the rules. Consider the vigilant life-long efforts people make to grow and flourish. Remember the countless reminders received from parents, educators, medical professionals, and other caretakers to remain safe and healthy. Measure the perpetual efforts made to build toward a successful life. Remember the desperation when presented by a threat to life and the efforts made to escape it. Relive the grief at the loss of a loved one. Breath by breath, second by second we focus upon Life. Is it any wonder that people are shocked when someone willfully chooses to abandon this shared quest by completing suicide? Death by suicide powerfully jars our concept of the way life is supposed to be and challenges core foundations such as “What can I really trust?”

When death by suicide strikes the workplace employees immediately look to its leadership for direction. How those leaders respond when all eyes are upon them offers both tremendous opportunity and serious risk for the subsequent outcomes. At risk is trust. Some will react more strongly than others (Some co-workers may now be at increased risk for their own self-harm) but when exposed to this event the primary question regresses to “How would leadership respond if it was me? How valued am I?”

Effective crisis leadership after suicide demonstrates trustworthiness at three levels: Competence, Character, and Compassion. These elements are not mutually exclusive and must be in evidence simultaneously.

Competence:

·         Especially when shaken, people need to experience leadership that has a plan and demonstrates expertise. Acknowledge your own pain but let people see you move forward confidently. People must witness someone who is also impacted and fully acknowledges that impact but is strong enough to move forward while sad. There is tremendous power in strong, calm presence. Calm is just as contagious as fear.

·         Communicate sensitive but confident belief in others’ competence. Express a firm expectation of recovery and return to a New Normal. Guide people to efficacy through sensitive resumption of familiar tasks and schedules. They need to know you believe in them and will support their success.

·         Demonstrate competence by bringing expert resources into play such as the EAP to provide support and guidance.

Character:

·         Those led must witness leadership that keeps promises, operates by the rules, and “does the right thing.” Suicide breaks rules. Sometimes suicide feels like a lie. Leadership must cherish shared life-giving values, especially at this time.

·         Suspicion and distrust need not be logical to be powerful. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Minus current information people tend to develop their own and that misinformation can be very damaging.

Compassion:

·         Demonstrate caring. Death by suicide is a very human crisis. Care for the family of the deceased as well as others who are particularly impacted. People will equate that caring with the value you hold for them.

·         Build community by being visible to groups of impacted co-workers and emphasizing the strength available through community. Remind work teams to support each other both emotionally and functionally while they may not be at their best.

Do the right thing and it’s good for business. Crisis leadership aims to mitigate the human, financial, productivity, reputational, and morale costs of tragedy. When death by suicide impacts an organization it produces a day people will never forget. Those you lead will not. Neither will you. Lead them well.

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Insurance Thought Leadership’s ongoing series of articles focused on suicide prevention is authored by the Workplace Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the public-private partnership championing suicide prevention as a national priority.

About the Author:

Bob VandePol serves as Director of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Service’s Employee Assistance Program. He helps business leaders leverage behavioral health expertise to enhance the health and productivity of their work teams. Active as a keynote speaker and author, his areas of particular interest include suicide prevention, leading mission-driven teams, and facilitating individual and organizational resilience after tragedies. He is a member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Workplace Task Force that developed the Workplace Blueprint for Suicide Prevention. He can be reached at bob.vandepol@pinerest.org or (616) 258-7548.

When Workplace Safety is a Core Value, Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention Matter

By Ronn Lehmann and Sally Spencer-Thomas

In a true Culture of Safety, safety always wins. It is the first among equals; it is the card that beats all others. In short, Safety is a Core Value of the organization.

Safety and other Core Values are:

• Continuously communicated.
• Lived by leaders in their words and behaviors.
• Formally and informally reinforced, recognized and rewarded
• Integrated throughout all operations.
• Used as a compass to guide decisions.
• Measured and monitored against goals.
• Committed to, not simply complied with.

The Importance of Mindsets

Photo By Jesse Orrico

It’s my firm belief that for an individual to be successful at anything, he or she has to have the right Mindset, Skillset, and Toolset. And of these, the most important is Mindset. Why? Because Mindsets drive Behaviors.

Mindsets are created by a wide variety of factors: upbringing, social circles, religion, education, etc. But when it comes to the workplace, mindsets are created and reinforced by the organization’s Culture.

People behave safely when they have a Safety Mindset, a belief that safety in the workplace is their responsibility, both for themselves and others. That belief leads to decision-making based on the potential hazards and risks of any behavior.

Safety and Mental Health

The Core Value of Safety is not just about the right safety gear or procedures. It creates an environment where the mental well-being of the people is just as important as their physical safety.

Did you know 1 in 5 Americans in the workplace live with a diagnosable mental health condition? While many are able to use medication, treatment, wellness practices and peer support to manage these health conditions, too many go unidentified and untreated, And like most neglected health conditions, their status often worsens unnecessarily.

Unaddressed mental health conditions and addictions can negatively affects productivity, attention to detail, quality of work and the safety of the individual as well as co-workers, but with treatment, support, and wellness, people living with mental health conditions can be some of your most gifted employees. Most employers simply aren’t aware that often people with the strongest work ethic, creativity, charisma, detail-orientation, and interpersonal skills as also sometimes vulnerable to depression, bipolar condition, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety.

When left unchecked mental health conditions and addiction can be life-threatening. Tragically, the suicide rate in the United States has been steadily increasing since 1999, especially among working-age men. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death for males ages 25 to 54 in 2014.

Photo by Samuel Zeller

When Safety is a Core Value, it goes beyond preventing physical illness and injury. It also includes supporting the emotional well-being of employees. Beyond being the right thing to do, it is in the organization’s economic best interest to ensure that its employees are mentally resilient, healthy, and productive. There is a significant return on investment by promoting employee mental health, positively impacting everything from disability and workman's compensation to productivity and employee retention.

Does your Culture reflect the value of Mental Health?

It can be difficult to determine the true nature of an organization’s culture when you’re inside it. As the noted media theorist Marshall McLuhan put it, “We don't know who discovered water, but we know it wasn't the fish.”

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continually evaluate your Safety Culture, especially in terms of mental health. These questions can help you determine if mental health is part of your Core Value of Safety:

• What does your company’s culture say about how you value mental health as a part of overall wellness?
• What does the work environment tell people about how they should best deal with stress? Conflict? Depression? Addiction? 
• Does your company’s leadership model mentally healthy behavior? Is emotional intelligence and mental health self-care supported?
• Is anyone at the top level of leadership “out” and talking about their recovery journey from addiction or mental health challenges?
• Is mental health promotion and suicide prevention part of your Health and Safety Programs? (e.g., training on early identification and intervention, mental health resources like Employee Assistance Programs, suicide prevention hotlines, peer support resources, etc.)
• Do employees recognize unidentified and untreated addiction and serious mental health conditions as a potential safety hazard just as they would someone with a head injury, heart condition or broken leg?

Culture is Everyone’s Responsibility

Photo by Robin Yang

Cultures aren’t something “out there”. They are created and maintained by individuals, not organizations. They are the sum total of the shared values of everyone in the organization, how each individual shows up and creates an environment for others to show up.

Anyone can — and does — have influence over the culture. Of course, Leaders have significant influence, but Culture is not simply their responsibility. To a larger or lesser degree, every employee influences the Culture every day.

If you want to have a true Safety Culture, everyone in the organization must have:

• A Mindset of Safety, viewing every situation and decision through the lens of safety.
• Safe Behaviors that ensure a safe workplace.
• A recognition that mental health is as vital as physical health.
• An understanding of resources available to stay physically and mentally healthy.

Cultures are created, reinforced, or even changed one person at a time, having the right Mindset to lead to the desired behaviors. That’s how you move Safety beyond a program or set of rules to “the way things are done around here.”

Promoting mental health, suicide prevention as well as physical health and safety is how an organization truly lives its Core Value of Safety.

About the Authors:

SALLY SPENCER-THOMAS: As a clinical psychologist, mental health advocate, faculty member, and survivor of her brother's suicide, Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas sees the issues of suicide prevention from many perspectives. Currently, she is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Carson J Spencer Foundation (www.CarsonJSpencer.org), a Colorado-based organization leading innovation in suicide prevention. One of the main programs of the Carson J Spencer Foundation is “Working Minds: Suicide Prevention in the Workplace” – the nation’s first comprehensive and sustained program designed to help employers with the successful prevention, intervention and crisis management of suicide (www.WorkingMinds.org). Additionally, she is the Co-Lead of the Workplace Task Force for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, and the Co-Chair of the Workplace Special Interest Group of the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

RONN LEHMANN: With over 25 years as an independent consultant, Ronn Lehmann advises organizations and leaders to ensure that their culture supports their goals, especially in the areas of Safety, Quality, and Productivity. He has worked with organizations in a wide range of industries to help them create cultural strategies that support their efforts to create a safe and successful workplace. Ronn conducts Cultural Audits for organizations, facilitates Safety Culture workshops, and speaks on the topics of Culture, Leadership, Safety Commitment and the Hazard of Complacency. He has been a visiting instructor at Century College, and has contributed to several books, including “Even Eagles Need A Push” by David McNally, “Playing To Win” by Larry and Hersch Wilson, “Making the Grass Greener on Your Side” by Ken Melrose, CEO of Toro Corporation, and “Fire Yourself” by John Rusciano and Lisa Brezonik.

MREs Aren’t the Only Thing That Can Make You Feel Like Crap: Veterans and Mental Health/Suicide Prevention

MREs Aren’t the Only Thing That Can Make You Feel Like Crap:

Veterans and Mental Health/Suicide Prevention

Carson J Spencer Foundation’s Monthly #ElevateTheConvo Twitter Chat

January 5, 2017

5:00 PM PT/6:00 PM MT/7:00 PM CT/8:00 PM ET

This Twitter Chat will bring together perspectives on “upstream” mental health promotion and suicide prevention for Veterans/Military sharing expertise from research, clinical and lived experience. Conversation will explore topics like screening, early intervention, and so called “alternative” approaches to traditional mental health services. 

Panelists will be discussing:

• ·       What are some of the main drivers of mental health crises and suicide risk among Veterans? What are misperceptions?
•      What barriers do Veterans experience when engaging in traditional mental health services (talk therapy/medication)?
•      How can screening and early intervention help Veterans? Peer Support? Wellness? Animal Assisted Therapy?
•        What else would you like Veterans to know about proactively taking care of mental health and building resilience?

Panelists include:

Sean Barnes, Ph.D. joined the Rocky Mountain MIRECC team as a full clinical research psychologist in 2013. Dr. Barnes contributes to the MIRECC through investigatory research (Principal Investigator and Co-PI for multiple projects), consulting (expert input for mental health and medical providers on suicide risk management), assessment, and treatment (group and individual). Dr. Barnes also holds a local academic appointment as Assistant Professor at the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. @Sean_M_Barnes

Tomas K. Cruz is an Active Duty Master Sergeant in the Unites States Army with over 21 years of service.  He has deployed in support of Operation Joint Guardian, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  MSG Cruz has lived experience with suicide prevention and awareness as he attempted in 2010 to take his life.  Since his attempt MSG Cruz has become a huge advocate of more awareness and prevention for Veterans.  He has taken his skills to social media where he assisted in pioneering two organizations to identify and assist Veterans with mental health issues, suicidal ideations, relationship issues, financial concerns and other Veteran specific issues. @TCruz76

Major General Mark Graham retired from the US Army as the Director U.S. Army Forces Command after almost 35 years of service. Major General Graham and his wife, Carol, tirelessly champions mental health and suicide-prevention awareness. They both speak across the nation to honor the memory of their two sons, 2LT Jeff Graham who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in February 2004, and their son Kevin a Senior Army ROTC cadet who died by suicide in June 2003. @mgrahamm2

Sarra Nazem, Ph.D. joined the Rocky Mountain MIRECC staff as a Clinical/Research Psychologist. Dr. Nazem’s primary research interests are focused on the identification of underlying processes associated with the acquired capability to enact lethal self-injury. Additionally, Dr. Nazem also has a secondary interest in examining the association between sleep disorders and suicide risk. @SarraNazem

Andrew O'Brien is an Iraq war veteran and suicide attempt survivor. After being lucky enough to wake up, he decided to make a difference for all communities suffering from suicide. He now travels across the world speaking to both military and civilian communities. He helps people realize that they are no longer alone in the way they feel or think, giving them courage to seek help for their mental struggles and helping their peers as well. @LivingResilient

Matt Podlogar, M.S. is a 4th year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student who works with Dr. Thomas Joiner at Florida State University in the “Joiner Lab” for the study and prevention of suicide-related conditions and behaviors, and a research assistant for the Military Suicide Research Consortium, part of an ongoing strategy to integrate and synchronize U.S. Department of Defense and civilian efforts to implement a multidisciplinary research approach to suicide prevention. Matt’s current research interests are focused on suicide risk assessment and measurement, particularly among military and veterans. @JoinerLab

Nickie Silverstein joined Give an Hour in September 2015 as a volunteer and currently serves as a Campaign to Change Direction Liaison. She and her husband have both served in the Army. She served as a finance officer in the Army for nearly nine years. After the Army, she became a government service employee serving as the Executive Officer to the Garrison Commander for both Fort Riley and Fort Leavnworth, Kansas. Her husband retired after 27 years of service and deployed three times throughout his career. @SignsForChange

Caitlin Thompson, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office for Suicide Prevention. She is responsible for the office’s vision and mission, including the development of VA suicide prevention policy initiatives. A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Thompson directs VA’s epidemiological and clinical research in suicide prevention and is recognized internationally as an authority on Veteran suicide. @VeteransHealth

NHL Goalie Talks about Surviving a Suicide Attempt and Becoming a Mental Health Advocate

Clint Malarchuk, otherwise known as the “Cowboy Goalie” is a retired NHL goalie who played for the Quebec Nordiques, the Washington Capitals, and the Buffalo Sabres between 1981 and 1992. On March 22, 1989, Clint survived a life-threatening injury during a NHL game when a Saint Louis Blues player's skate blade sliced his jugular vein. 

March 22, 1989

On October 7, 2008, Clint survived a suicide attempt after decades of living with PTSD, Obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction and depression. In 2014 he published a memoir, “A Matter of Inches: How I Survivedin the Crease and Beyond.” Currently, he and his wife Joanie are relentless in their effort to help promote hope and healing to the millions of people living with mental health conditions and suicidal thoughts.

Clint encourages all Coloradoans to attend the Avalanche Hockey Team’s Mental Health Awareness night on January 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM. To purchase tickets ($5 of each ticket will benefit the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado): http://suicidepreventioncolorado.org/event-2370111

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In Clint’s own words…

View PSA by Clint: https://youtu.be/Wa02uONnhRo

Every suicide attempt survivor I’ve meet is grateful that they are alive - me included.

Every time I hear of a death by suicide, I can’t help but cringe and think, “Had they survived and received help, they, like me and others might be healthy happy and productive.”

I have also meet people who are still suffering. I know how they feel. They say they wish they would just die. I have heard them say, “But I don't have the courage to do it.”

Some people think suicide is cowardly. So what was I? Cowardly or courageous? The answer is I was suffering with depression, obsessive compulsion disorder, anxiety, PTSD, with extreme paranoia. Simply, I was not healthy. I literally thought I was not in control of my mind. After my suicide attempt, I spent months in rehab and learned how to manage my mental health conditions. Today I am here living a full life and advocating for others to do the same.

In recent years we have had several suicides, suspected suicides and overdoses by former NHL players like Tom Cavanagh, Todd Ewen, Rick Rypien, Wade Belak, and Derek Boogaard. It has been debated that concussions may attribute to depression and anxiety; however, many of these players where enforcers.

On average, someone attempts suicide every 40 seconds in the US. These are not cowardly or weak people they are in unimaginable pain. Their pain is as real as any physical ailment.

We need to help all people and prevent suicide.

You can help save a life! Please help by supporting suicide prevention. Join the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado: http://suicidepreventioncolorado.org/join-us

Good Pitching, Running into a Screen Door, and How Anger Screws Up Men’s Brains

Guest Blog By Zachary Gerdes

Pitching can win pennants. Plain and simple. Whether it’s Cofax's curve, a Randy Johnson fastball, or basically anything Andrew Miller threw during that pennant run for Cleveland last month. Watching guys swing at garbage that looks in the zone until it breaks is like watching a kid run into the screen door not knowing it’s closed. It’s ridiculous and glorious in such a sick way. And it’s just not even fair. The kid falls down and cries. The hitter throws a bat and yells something the camera has to break away from so you don’t read his lips watching at home. Either way, somebody ends up looking ridiculous. And they don’t even know what hit them.

So the victim of the breaking ball or screen door gets pissed. Anger is a pretty common default emotion for men and boys. That hitter or kid is actually probably ashamed or embarrassed. But that defaults into anger for a lot of guys and here’s what happens. Anger literally shuts down the smartest parts of your brain.

Wait … what?

Yeah. Because science. Anger fires up the amygdala and shuts down the prefrontal cortex responsible for rational thinking. This sucks because the amygdala is often called the “reptilian” part of the brain. In other words, anger fires up the parts of the brain that humans have in common with snakes and shuts down the higher level functioning parts of the brain unique to humans. The parts that are responsible for self-control and logical reasoning. Anger activates a fight or flight response rather than a response that will get anger under control. This is key because we know uncontrolled anger can create stress on the brain that, if prolonged, can lead to a whole host of terrible stuff including depression and even heart disease. This is why anger is actually considered a symptom of depression for men. Catharsis – the idea that we release anger by getting it out (like throwing the bat or charging the mound) – isn’t actually true. The only way to reduce anger is to use the parts of the brain that get shut down by it. Anger perpetuates stress on the brain rather than a solution.

The good news is that anger is actually controllable, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment. That’s why Man Therapy exists. To provide resources when life throws junk. Breathing is legit for controlling anger. Seriously. Or just breathe how a man should do it. Every day might not be a good day. Sometimes you just wake up in a slump or get thrown an unhittable curve. We’re not going to make contact on every pitch. Shit happens. Life throws some ugly side-armed crap like trauma, depression, anxiety, and stress. In response, we’ve got to figure out what to do that isn’t defaulting to exploding anger. Like this guy’s version of “yoga.”

Instead of swinging at junk, sometimes all it takes is one pitch. Sometimes all it takes is staying alive long enough for that pitch. Eventually, that pitch is gonna come, I don’t care who’s on the mound. But getting pissed doesn’t make a guy a better hitter, it spins him out of control to the point that he keeps swinging at junk. If every swung-on-and-missed leads to uncontrollable anger, the brain won’t be tuned in for the next pitch or at-bat. The rational part of the brain shuts down. Emotions like anger aren’t bad, their important information. We’ve just got to notice them and dissect things like anger. If, as men, we keep defaulting to getting pissed and don’t get anger and stress under control, it’s not just a whiff, it’s a strikeout with two outs and two on. 

What Works? Mental Health and Crisis Services for Men

#ElevateTheConvo TWITTER CHAT

Join us on December 1st, (5:00pm PT, 6:00pm MT, 7:00 CT, 8:00pm ET)

The Twitter Chat will bring together perspectives from male mental health professionals who specialize in men’s mental health and masculinity, some of whom are also suicide attempt survivors. The Chat will be an hour long and will explore the following questions:

• ·        How did you come into the work of suicide prevention crisis, peer support or mental health services, especially with men?
•        What the barriers some men experience when engaging in traditional mental health services (talk therapy and medication)?
•      What are some new ways we can better serve men who may not feel mental health services are relevant?
•     What would you like other men to know about reaching out for mental health services (therapy, crisis, peer)?

Panelists Include:

Andrew Irwin-Smiler

Bart Andrews

Carl Dunn

Craig Bryan

Eduardo Vega

Jeff Nepute

Jonathan Singer

Sean Erreger

Eduardo Vega, CEO of Dignity Mental Health Activators International, a consulting, training and technical assistance center focused on social change, social justice, and behavioral health systems transformation driven by lived experience. An internationally recognized thought leader in recovery-oriented programs and policy, consumer/user engagement, stigma reduction, men’s health and suicide prevention, his work as a change agent and innovator continues to drive the forefront of change for mental health worldwide. @evega_mhdignity

Jeff Nepute, Staff Psychologist at CSU Health Network-Counseling Services, with a specialties in substance use/abuse, men's issues, and more recently working with clients who exhibit self-injurious and/or chronically suicidal tendencies. I work on a team that specializes in treatment for students recently released from mental health hospitalizations.  We provide DBT informed individual therapy sessions (we target suicidal behavior, parasuicidal behavior, therapy interfering behavior, and quality of life interfering behaviors), DBT informed skills groups, meetings with a Psychiatrist, and weekly staff meetings to ensure the best quality of care possible. @drjeffnepute

Craig Bryan, Executive Director, National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah. Dr. Craig J. Bryan, PsyD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist in cognitive behavioral psychology, and is currently the Executive Director of the National Center for Veterans Studies at The University of Utah. He previously served in the U.S. military and deployed to Iraq in 2009. Dr. Bryan’s research focuses on developing and testing treatments for military personnel and veterans. He is considered a national expert in military and veteran suicide prevention and PTSD. @craigjbryan

Jonathan Singer, Founder & Host, Social Work Podcast. Dr. Singer's clinical and research interests focus on interventions for suicidal and cyberbullied youth; service access and service utilization; and use of technology in education and clinical practice. Dr. Singer has presented over 100 regional, national and international workshops, scholarly papers, keynotes, continuing education trainings and webinars for the U.S. Military, community mental health agencies, school districts, and clinical social work organizations on topics such as: suicide in schools, Attachment-Based Family Therapy, child and adolescent therapies, suicide risk assessment and intervention, cyberbullying, adolescent development, and ethics & technology. He is the author of 50 publications, including the 2015 Routledge text, Suicide in Schools. @socworkpodcast

Bart Andrews, Vice President-Clinical Practice/Evaluation, Behavioral Health Response. Bart Andrews, PhD, is Vice President of Clinical Practice/Evaluation at Behavioral Health Response.  Dr. Andrews is the President of the National Association of Crisis Organization Directors, Co-Chair of the Suicide Lifeline’s Standards, Training and Practices committee, a member of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s (SPRC) Steering Committee, an SPRC  ZeroSuicide Academy Faculty member and member of the American Association of Suicidology’s Executive Board of Directors. Dr. Andrews is a suicide attempt survivor and a proponent of embracing of lived expertise in our suicide prevention efforts. Dr. Andrews believes that the path to suicide prevention must be framed in the context of relationships, community, and culture.  Dr. Andrews was recognized as one of the top 21 mental health professionals of 2015 to follow on Twitter and can be found @bartandrews.

Sean Erreger. I am Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW, MSW) in New York State with an undergraduate degree in psychology. I have over a decade of practice experience in a variety of settings including foster care prevention, psychiatric emergency room, adolescent day treatment, and adult inpatient. I am currently a clinical case manager for children and adolescents at risk of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and/or out of home placement. @StuckonSW

Andrew Irwin-Smiler, PhD is a therapist and author in Winston-Salem NC. His practice focuses on teen boys and men of all ages who want help with relationship challenges, depression, anxiety problems, sexual identity and dysfunction issues, and gender identity concerns. He is the author of several books about guys, most recently "Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy." @andrewsmiler

Carl Dunn. Carl Dunn is a mental health educator in Houston who as part of BPD Support & Recovery works to educate and support people and families dealing with Borderline Personality Disorder. Additionally, he has the "lived experience" of dealing with his own past depression. Carl moderates a weekly international peer Twitter chat for people with Borderline Personality Disorder called #BPDChat. He is active in social media efforts advancing mental health (including the #SPSM suicide prevention community). @CarlDunnJr