Cedar Rapids — Several school districts in Iowa are adding Cedar Rapids-based workplace mental health and wellness partners to help educators manage their mental health and reach their goals.
Covenant Workplace Solutions, like many of these programs, is an employee assistance program that provides employees with confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals and follow-up services as part of their benefits package. It also aims to reduce stigma around mental health in the workplace and make services more accessible to employees, said Chad Cherkowski, owner and head of sales at Covenant Workplace Solutions. Stated.
According to the National Business Group on Health, the average utilization of employee assistance programs in the United States is about 5.5% of workers, calling itself an advocate for health policy.
Covenant Workplace Solutions was formed in 2020 as a division of local mental health provider Covenant Family Solutions to help organizations meet their workplace mental health service needs.
Last year, Workplace Solutions entered into a seven-year strategic partnership with Covenant Family Solutions, creating a unique company to serve communities where new clinics are opening. We currently have clinics in Cedar Rapids, Marion, North Liberty, Iowa City, Cedar Falls, Dubuque and Davenport.
Recently, the Iowa City Community School District, which became the 14th largest school district in the state with approximately 2,300 employees, signed a contract with Covenant Workplace Solutions.
“If neighborhoods like the City of Iowa trust us to take care of their employees, I’m sure we’re doing something good,” Cherkowski said. . “It’s a big feather on our hat.”
Covenant Workplace Solutions also serves Mount Vernon, Solon, Lisbon and Williamsburg School Districts. Other districts also have employee assistance programs with other providers.
The Gazette spoke with Charkowski to learn more about the mental health services offered to educators and other professionals through its program.
Q: Why do you see an increasing demand for your services from educators?
a: I think it’s been there before, but the educators are very thinly distributed. (mental health) may be one of the things that is being covered up. “I take care of others before I take care of myself.” It only works for the long haul. Educators, like doctors and nurses, were on the front lines of the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, well over 26 percent of Americans had a diagnosable mental disorder that year, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. Post-pandemic statistics have yet to be released, perhaps because it is so alarming.
Q: How does the Employee Assistance Program work?
a: Each person is a little different. When someone calls you, you’re there no matter where you are. Not everyone can answer the phone and book a therapy session with a qualified therapist.
Whether it’s anxiety, depression, marriage counseling, grief or anything else that’s going on with that person, it’s a one-stop shop.
We have a membership portal with everything you can imagine. The key is to teach yourself to take 15-20 minutes a day to be proactive in your own mental health and wellness. We offer self-help courses on compassion fatigue, overcoming burnout, practicing mindfulness, and combating anxiety.
In some cases, legal or financial information may be required. We hire them experts – perhaps it’s to help them with budgets and taxes. Left unchecked, these simple things can become major stressors.
Life coaching focuses on personal growth and development. We have a certified fitness coach and a certified nutrition coach.
You can use the tools and resources from the course you took online as a roadmap for most of your first treatment sessions. It gives them the confidence to go further.
This applies not only to employees, but also to their immediate family members. It’s very important to us. We provide 8 sessions per year for each family as needed.
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