8 | Alison Butler | Mental Health Considerations
Summary:
Mental health is a hot topic, particularly in the workplace.
The events of the past year and the challenges the pandemic has brought have highlighted the importance of supporting mental health and wellness. While many businesses have made great strides to put policies and resources in place, it can often be difficult to implement them in a way that helps people feel supported rather than singled out.
In today’s episode of “Unlocking your People,” Jess sits down with Alison Butler to discuss how leaders can best support people when they’re facing these types of challenges. Alison has a Masters in Employment Relations from Memorial University of Newfoundland and has completed the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructor’s Course through the Mental Health Commission of Canada. She brings her expertise – along with her own personal experiences – to the conversation.
You’ll learn why “mental health” and “mental illness” are not interchangeable concepts and why it’s important to distinguish between the two.
You’ll learn how to identify if someone on your team may be dealing with a mental health issue, and how to initiate a conversation about it in a supportive way.
You’ll also discover how you can create a supportive space for your people, and why there are no “one-size-fits-all” solutions.
Join Jess and Alison as they discuss strategies for creating a positive and supportive workspace to help your people be the best version of themselves.
Enjoy!
What You’ll Learn in this Show:
- Why “mental health” and “mental illness” are not interchangeable concepts.
- How to identify if someone may be dealing with a mental health issue.
- How to initiate a conversation around mental health that is both caring and supportive.
- How to create a supportive space for your people that focuses on them as unique individuals with unique needs.
- And so much more…
Quotes:
“How do I initiate a conversation around mental health or well being? How do I know if someone isn’t the best version of themselves right now?”
“…I don’t like people to just think about mental health as mental illness, even though that is a piece of it.”
“I think it’s really important, firstly, to create an environment where people feel okay with expressing how they feel…”
“…it’s really important to remember that we each have a brain that is unique to us. And therefore no two mental health challenges look or feel exactly the same.”
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