Cedar Rapids – Several Iowa school districts are adding a workplace mental health and wellness partner – based in Cedar Rapids – to help educators manage their mental health and achieve their goals.
Covenant International Workplace Solutions is an employee assistance program that — like many such programs — offers confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals and follow-up services to employees as part of their benefits. He’s also trying to reduce stigma around mental health in the workplace and make it easier for employees to access services, said Chad Charkovsky, owner and chief sales officer of Covenant Solutions.
The average use of employee assistance programs in the United States is about 5.5 percent of workers, according to the National Health Business Group, which describes itself as a voice in healthcare policy.
Covenant Workplace Solutions was launched in 2020 as a division of Covenant Family Solutions, a local mental health provider, to help organizations address the need for mental health services in the workplace.
Last year, Workplace Solutions became its own company with a seven-year strategic partnership with Family Covenant to provide services in areas where new clinics are opening. There are currently clinics in Cedar Rapids, Marion, North Liberty, Iowa City, Cedar Falls, Dubuque and Davenport.
Recently, the Iowa City Community School District became the 14th largest in the state, with about 2,300 employees, to hire Certified Workplace Solutions.
“We know we’re doing a good thing when an area like Iowa City puts their trust in us to take care of their employees,” Sharkowski said. “That’s a huge feather in our cap.”
Standard Workplace Solutions also serves the school districts of Mount Vernon, Solon, Lisbon and Williamsburg. Other areas also have employee assistance programs with other providers.
OJ spoke with Charkowski to learn more about the mental health services offered to educators and other professionals through her program.
Q: Why do you think you see an increased demand for your services from teachers?
a: I think it’s always been there, but teachers are so spread out. (Mental health) can be one of those things that gets swept under the rug. “I will take care of people before I take care of myself.” This only works for so long. Teachers have been on the front lines of the pandemic like doctors and nurses.
Pre-pandemic, more than 26 percent of Americans experienced diagnosable mental disorders in a given year, according to Johns Hopkins (Medicine). They haven’t come out with post-pandemic statistics yet because they’re probably alarming.
Q: How does your employee assistance program work?
a: Everyone is a little different… When someone calls, we meet them wherever they are. Not everyone is ready to pick up the phone and schedule a therapy session with a licensed therapist.
It’s a one-stop-shop for whatever’s going on with that person – anxiety, depression, marital counseling, and grief.
We have a member portal with anything and everything you can imagine. A great piece is educating them about carving out 15 to 20 minutes a day to proactively work on their mental health and wellness. We have self-help courses on overcoming compassion fatigue, burnout, practicing mindfulness, and combating anxiety.
Sometimes what they need is legal or financial information. We set them up with a professional – perhaps to help them with the budget or taxes. These simple things can become a major stress when left unattended.
We have life coaching focused on personal growth and development. We have a certified fitness trainer and a certified nutrition coach on staff.
They can use the tools and resources from online courses almost as a road map for their first therapy session. It gives them confidence to move forward.
It is not only for employees, but also for their immediate family members in their homes. This is very important to us. We offer eight sessions a year for each family member as needed.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
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