by Brooke Carbo
World Mental Health Day, an international day of recognition in support of mental health, is Oct. 10. This year, the World Health Organization’s annual initiative is highlighting the vital connection between mental health and safe, healthy working environments.
Awareness initiatives highlight the importance of mental health, reduce stigma and promote resources for fostering a caring and informed community, said Tami Long, Ph.D., director of UAB's Employee Assistance and Counseling Center.
In addition, she added, “year-long advocacy efforts are essential in improving the quality of life and outcomes for those with mental health conditions who suffer in silence.”
The UAB Enterprise Mental Health Advocate Program, an initiative that allows participants to earn badges showcasing their commitment to mental health, recently introduced a new learning track to its lineup of mental health training for employees and students across UAB’s academic and medical campuses.
“The knowledge gained through this program can be invaluable in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of colleagues, friends and family members,” said Long.
The new Mental Health Fellow Facilitator track is open to UAB and UAB Medicine employees and trainees who are badged as Level 2 Advocates, with the approval of their immediate supervisor and a director from the EACC, Student Counseling Services or the UAB Medicine Office of Wellness. Participants learn advanced skills to address mental health challenges, respond to critical incidents and educate others on cultivating a coordinated approach to mental health and wellbeing on campus.
The Mental Health Advocate Program was launched last year by the UAB Cares Suicide Prevention Initiative. Its goal, said UAB Cares Leadership and Implementation Team Chair and Student Counseling Services Director Angela Stowe, Ph.D., is to encourage members of the UAB community to not only take care of their own mental health, but to also “look out for others by providing support, resources and care across the institution,” said Stowe.
“When we do this in an outward and visible way — such as displaying badging in signature lines, offices and classes — we are promoting the institutional values and telling others, ‘This is who we are.’”
