Beyond EAPs: Building the Mental Health Support Pyramid

During COVID, many long-term care organizations have leaned heavily on employee assistance programs (EAPs) to support employee mental health. While these programs are valuable, psychologist and consultant Kelly O'Shea Carney passionately argues that EAPs are just the tip of a pyramid of services and systems that providers must implement to truly foster mental wellbeing among residents and staff. One-on-one interventions offered through one's employer can seem daunting for employees in any profession. Carney, a specialist in geropsychology and dementia care, joins the podcast to discuss the more natural ways that organizations can provide mental health services, from facilitating support groups for frontline staff and developing a culture where self-care is as important as resident care and regulatory compliance. Carney – whose career in eldercare includes a stint as the executive director of Phoebe Ministries' Center for Excellence in Dementia Care – challenges providers to embrace the fact that every long-term care setting is a living, breathing community of humans, and caring for workers is a vital part of caring for elders.   Read Carney's recent article on strategies for creating wellbeing in health care settings: https://www.chausa.org/publications/health-progress/article/winter-2022/reducing-stress-and-fostering-well-being-among-health-care-staff Learn about Carney's book on the vital need for better mental health supports for elders and workers in long-term care: https://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Long-Term-Care-Expanded-Professionals/dp/1433823667 Carney's website www.visionledchange.org. Register for Pioneer Network's conference in Denver, July 27-30, your one chance to see Green House in person this year https://www.pioneernetwork.net/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-2022-conference Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org