Online tools for mental health going mainstream at work

Online tools for mentalhealth are becoming increasinglymainstream as employers seekmore options to support the well-being of their staff.

In recent years experts say business leaders have shown an increasing interest in mental health issuesand their impacton people and performance.

"I think there is broader, much broaderrecognition that this is an issue that corporate Canada needs to be paying attention to," saidJordan Friesen, the national director for workplace mental health at the Canadian Mental Health Association.

While entrepreneurshave launched a numberof online mentalhealth tools for the corporate world,Friesen'sview is also rooted in subscriptionsforhis charitable organization's workplace program,Not Myself Today.

"We've actually seen pretty remarkable growth curve for Not Myself Today,both in terms of companies that use the program as well as the growth we've seen in sustainable revenue as a charity," aid Friesen.

Companiesthat signup for the programreceive a combination of posters, fact sheets and conversation cards on mental health, as well as access to a series of mental videos online for workers and their families.

At a cost of fourdollars per year per employee, more than 450 Canadian companies are enrolled in the program.

In addition,local CMHA offices can providethings like risk assessments, referrals, and experts to lead workshops, whichthe organization encourageseach year as part of its Mental Health Week, May 6 to 12.

Marking Mental Health Week

One businessmarking mental health week is LifeSpeak,a wellness company that provides an online libraryfor its clients' employees, including hundreds of videos featuring experts talking about a range of topics in health, family, financial and professional development.

Danny Weill, vice-president of the 15-year-old Toronto based company, said"25 per cent of LifeSpeak's total content would be considered core mental health programming."

This week its offering clients an online "mental health marathon."Thetwo-dayevent has psychologists hosting back-to-back 90-minute question-and-answer sessions, taking live questions on things like anxiety,mood disorders and supporting someone living with mental illness.

LifeSpeak has 550 clients representingseven million workers across North America, ranging from Bell Canada to the Royal Canadian Mint to Save on Foods. Weill says mental health topicsalways scoreamong their clients' most-watched videos.

Like all of LifeSpeak's content, the marathon can be accessed by employees anonymously through a computer or handheld device.

Ernst and Young Canada uses LifeSpeak. Kimberly Allen is in charge of benefits at the company and said she is excited about the marathon.

In addition to confidentiality, she said convenience is another big factor in making sure employees can get help:"45 per centof our employees are under age 30, and they are interested in doing things efficiently and using technology as much as possible."

Getting help and gamification

A recent trend in mental health support is the creation of mental health apps.

American companies loom large in thatmobileworld.Talkspace claims to be the global leader in online therapy with a network of more than 3,000 therapists to help individual users and corporate clientemployees through online messaging.

A company called7Cups of Tea boasts of having helped more than 39 million people through its platform for individuals and businesses. Onitusers access help from "120,000 trained active listeners and therapists,"trytherapeutic exercises, or playgames related to life challenges. Another newer app called Sibly offers 24/7 "mental wellness coaching"through text-style messaging.

Given the costs associatedwith mental health issues, there's afinancial dimension to helping people that is driving innovation.

Canadians companies are alsoplanning to launch mental health apps, with onecalled Hugrscheduled for release latethis year,and LifeSpeakto launch one even sooner.

Weill saidits app will have many of the engagement tools unique to the digital world, such as badgesand other rewardactivities,but noted"there are no bells and whistles to replace an individual getting the appropriate support that they need."

Experts agree the "gamification" of mentalhealth does posepotential concerns.

"I know that a lot of creative people are coming up with interesting tools," said Dr. Nik Grujich, a staff psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, and a featured expert in LifeSpeakvideos.

While Grujichsaidhe broadly supports innovation in health care and psychiatry, he'd like to see clinical research on whether thesenew appsand games areeffective.

Nevertheless "in the absence of easily accessible therapy, I think all other tools are better than nothing."

Businesses backing traditional therapy

Some businesses are backing traditionaltherapy to support theiremployees.

In January,Ernst and Young Canada announced anew benefit for its 6,000 employees and their dependentsin the form of $5,000in annual coverage for counsellingor therapy.

Allen saysher company "really felt we needed to support our people by removing the financial barrier to accessing mental health services."Starbucksalso covers its employees for $5,000in therapy each year,while Manulifeoffers $10,000.

At the CMHA, Friesen says the investments in mental health make sense as the barriers between work and life become more blurry."If companies firmly believe that it is the people within the organization that drive the success of their business, then there is a natural connection to wanting to make sure those people are as healthy as they can be, both physically and mentally."

One study even suggests companies that invest in the well-being of their workers demonstrate a higher market valuation than those that don't.