HR Update
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a great time to take stock of your emotional wellbeing and seek further help if needed. Here are events and University benefits vendor resources to help University employees learn about and support mental health.
Try Therapy or Coaching
Counseling and consultation services are available virtually, via telephone, or in person with a professional counselor. You can get help no matter what you’re going through, including anxiety, depression, job concerns, chronic illness, family and relationship issues, grief, stress, substance use, and more.
- Employee Assistance (EAP) provider Lyra Health offers a variety of care options for eligible employees and their dependents at no cost to you.
- Find a mental health provider covered by the University medical plan using the Live and Work Well site from Optum. Use "medica" as your access code.
- Amwell offers virtual care options for University medical plan members.
Culturally Responsive Care
Culturally responsive care guides mental health providers toward fully seeing and valuing you for all aspects of your identity, background, and experiences. These resources offer support across a wide range of clinical needs, including racial stress and trauma, PTSD, and the specific needs of members from historically underrepresented communities.
- BIPOC Mental Health Collective offers a space for BIPOC faculty, staff, and students to share their experiences and stories. Programming is open to all faculty and staff, regardless of race, color, or national origin.
- Gender care support and services through Medica.
- Lyra’s diverse network of counselors self-identify across a broad range of racial, gender, sexual orientation, and other cultural identities.
Explore Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindful Mondays
The Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing hosts drop-in mindfulness sessions on Zoom at noon on Mondays. Each session guides attendees through yoga or qigong movements and meditations. Learn more about Mindful Mondays and try on-demand videos.
Wellbeing Points: 200 per session
Want to learn more about mindfulness meditation?
Join the Bakken Center for an intro session on mindfulness meditation on May 7, noon–1:00 p.m.
Wellbeing Points: 200
SKY Campus Happiness Retreat
Maintaining a regular SKY (Sudarshan Kriya Yoga) breathing practice is proven to reduce anxiety. This retreat, held for two-and-a-half hours a day from May 8 to 10, will set you up to develop a practice. As one prior participant said, “Do it! Really—do it! I instantly felt my nervous system shift in doing the SKY breathing practices, and that's just in a three-day retreat.”
Learn more and register for the retreat, offered at a discounted rate of $75.
Wellbeing Points: 1,800
Self-Guided Resources
EAP provider Lyra offers articles, courses, soundscapes, short videos, webinars, small-group virtual gatherings, and more. Topics include:
- Managing stress
- Improving sleep
- Building relationships
- Thriving at work
- Parenting
On-Demand Yoga and Meditation Classes
Wellbeats offers on-demand classes for all abilities, genders, and ages (including kids!). Learn how to access Wellbeats through the Wellbeing Program, or log in to Wellbeats if you’ve already signed up. Plus you’ll earn Wellbeing Points for classes.
Care for Your Kids’ Mental Health
Counseling and consultation services for dependent children are available virtually, via telephone, or in person with a professional counselor. Use the links above under Therapy and Coaching.
Medica’s Family Support Navigator can help find providers and create a treatment plan for children and teens with complex behavioral health needs, like autism, eating disorders, substance use, or depression.
Mental Health and Managing Employees
EAP provider Lyra offers manager consults to help HR partners and supervisors dealing with employee mental health concerns. Consultation support is available via Lyra’s 24/7 Care Navigator Team phone line. Clinical specialists can help you with situations such as:
- An employee has been absent from work and showing signs of distress
- An employee passed away and the manager needs guidance on how to share with the team
- An employee returns to work after being out for a behavioral health condition
- An employee expressed suicidality or mental health concerns to their manager
- How to discuss the Lyra benefit with an employee
- An employee comes to work intoxicated
Call Lyra’s Care Navigator Team at 877-295-8939 to get support. Let the Care Navigator know you’re requesting a manager consult, the reasons for your request, and whether the consultation request is urgent. For urgent requests, a clinical specialist will contact you within 30 minutes. For non-urgent requests, a clinical specialist will respond within one business day.
Supervisors can also reach out to local HR for support.