Wellness and the Workplace: The Importance of Mental Health for Professional Success
If you stop into CWEE’s building and take the elevator to the second floor, the doors will open in front of our Wellness Suite. Step inside and you’ll find a restorative space complete with soft lighting, comfortable and inviting furniture, and a general feeling of peace and tranquility. Inside the offices of the Wellness Suite, you’ll find a team of kind, caring and experienced staff, ready and eager to connect with and support participants through mental health services.
Throughout CWEE’s 42 years of service, we have continually seen the importance of mental health services to not only gaining and retaining employment, but also in breaking cycles of generational poverty. Most, if not all, CWEE participants have experienced the negative effects of poverty-related trauma and chronic stress, which are proven to have long-lasting, negative effects on an individual’s overall health, including their mental health. Experiencing neglect, food scarcity, abuse, housing insecurity and other traumatizing life experiences has a direct impact on an individual’s mental health and wellbeing.
The interconnected nature of mental health and self-sufficiency creates cyclical, difficult-to-break patterns in participants’ lives. “It’s hard to pursue your goals of employment, housing, and more if you’re not feeling safe and secure. There’s a huge interplay between mental health and pursuing your goals” says Caitlin Villarreal, CWEE’s new mental health counselor.
We were thrilled to welcome Caitlin back to the CWEE team this summer. She joins us with a master’s degree in social work and a wealth of experience, previously working in housing outreach, private therapy, and community and medical social work. Caitlin is also a longtime friend of the organization, as she previously served as a Program Advisor at CWEE! Caitlin said that coming back to CWEE has “…felt like coming home. I loved my time here before and am so excited to be back. No matter the changes in the program since I’ve been away, the heart of CWEE is still the same.”
When participants have access to mental health support with one of CWEE’s licensed counselors, like Caitlin, they have a safe space to process their experiences, examine their expectations, and recognize patterns in their lives they may have never noticed before. Through mental health services, a participant collaboratively works with a therapist on their personal goals, which will vary from participant to participant. For some, counseling provides an opportunity to recognize and change patterns of critical self-talk or learn coping strategies to better manage anxiety. Other participants use the safe space to better understand their story and experiences, process traumatic memories, or address major internal barriers to success.
CWEE’s mental health services are designed to be trauma-informed, culturally sensitive and strengths-based. They are provided at no cost to participants. Nearly all CWEE participants rely on Medicaid for health insurance coverage, a system in Colorado that links patient care records to the “head of household.” For those experiencing partner-based abuse, this could create a dangerous situation for CWEE participants violence, potentially providing the abuser with sensitive information. Offering no-cost counseling allows participants to access completely confidential services in CWEE’s safe environment.
CWEE’s mental health services also leverage shared learning from peer-to-peer interactions to develop and sustain a supportive environment for participants. Caitlin shares that “For many participants, the experience of parenting can feel isolating and lonely. Lack of strong support systems and networks can leave parents feeling like they’re alone on this journey.” To address this need, CWEE has added a Social Emotional Learning Facilitator (SELF) to the team. CWEE’s SELF will lead peer-to-peer parenting groups where participants can connect, learn from one another, and build community together. The addition of the SELF role will bring this critical programming to all CWEE participants as they move through the program.
To create an environment that serves as a catalyst for change, CWEE provides essential supports that extend beyond traditional workforce development models, including mental health services at no cost to participants. If you’re passionate about mental health and want to support these impactful initiatives, reach out to Brittany Iwaszkiw at biwaszkiw@cwee.org to learn more!