Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio
Vice President, Health and Wellness, Prudential
Money may not be the root of all evil but it can be the root of a lot of problems, including mental health problems. But for clinicians, talking about it is taboo.
Five tips to shift workplace culture and create a space for open dialogue about mental health
Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio
Vice President, Health and Wellness, Prudential
The silence that surrounds mental health issues is often the result of shame and fear. This is particularly true in the workplace, where many worry they will suffer professional consequences if their co-workers and supervisors learn of their behavioral health challenges.
Sometimes, however, people keep silent about behavioral health issues simply because there is no space for such conversations in their workplace. If there is no precedent for initiating these sorts of conversations and people are not invited to share information about behavioral health matters, they likely will not feel comfortable discussing them. And so they remain silent, unsure of how—or where—to raise the topic.
Care for Your Mind kicks off a new series on workplace issues. Given that depression is the number one cause of disability in the United States, more needs to be done to accommodate employees’ mental health in the workplace. In the first post, Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio explains the value of work and the role employers can play in supporting good mental health.
Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio, LMFT, LCSW, DVS, CEAP, SPHR
Vice President, Health and Wellness, Prudential Financial, Inc.
Because most of us spend the majority of our waking hours at work, what happens there greatly affects many dimensions of our...
Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio, LMFT, LCSW, DVS, CEAP, SPHR
Vice President, Health and Wellness, Prudential Financial, Inc.
I read Carolyn Beauchamp’s recent post CFYM with interest, but not surprise. Ms. Beacuchamp discusses the inadequacies of insurers’ behavioral health networks and highlights the challenges that insured patients encounter when seeking mental health care. Often network information is outdated or incorrect, and it can be extremely time-consuming and frustrating to obtain an appointment. For someone in a worsening mental health state, such obstacles are frustrating at best, catastrophic at worst.
While Carolyn’s piece sheds light on this important issue, it is—unfortunately—not news to those of us who work in the behavioral health field. As a practitioner, I experienced the frustrations of patients struggling to find an in-network provider or schedule an appointment within a reasonable time frame. Now, in my current role as Vice President, Health and Wellness, at Prudential Financial, I work to combat these challenges and reduce obstacles to care.
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