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Benefits professionals know that behavioral health has long been eclipsed by physical ailments within the larger context of health plan management, even with mental health parity laws. That's largely because there are more tangible treatment options for colds, flus, accidents and diseases, which represent low-hanging fruit for cost management.
But it's not nearly as easy to treat or manage mental health and substance abuse issues, even though the need to find meaningful solutions has never been greater. Unchecked mental illness, for example, costs the U.S. more than $105 billion a year in lost productivity, according to the National Council for Behavioral Health. The group also notes that 35 million work days are lost every year as a result of this problem, while more than half of managers have no training to recognize the signs of mental illness or substance abuse.
Roughly 61 million U.S. adults experience mental illness in any given year, yet 60% of them won't ever receive the treatment that they need, explains Betsy Schwartz, who oversees the NCBH's Mental Health First Aid course. Depression alone has a huge impact on the workplace because of presenteeism and absenteeism. "Someone who's depressed might have difficulty concentrating," she says.
But organizations such as American Express, DuPont and others are finding ways to raise awareness about workplace depression, promote early recognition of symptoms and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.
American Express, for example, was recognized earlier this year by the American Psychological Association for its Healthy Minds program, which integrates behavioral health and emotional well-being into its health and wellness offerings. Dr. Wayne Burton, corporate medical director for American Express, says the company's focus on mental health goes hand-in-hand with its business goal of providing exceptional customer service.
"We know that to provide exceptional customer service you have to have exceptional employees and we have to support our employees around the world in their physical, as well as their mental, health issues that they may have from time to time," he says. "That's what it comes down to."
Under an expanded employee assistance program, Healthy Minds offers workers eight free sessions with a mental health professional, either at one of the company's onsite clinics or through the EAP vendor. The company invited actress and...