Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve learned a lot about the effects COVID-19 has on physical health – what about mental health? We recently looked at how the pandemic affects mental health and what we can do about it.

What have we learned over the past year?

Enduring over a year of the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a lot about gaps in treatment, accessibility, and the digital divide. At the WellPower, we’ve worked hard to address those gaps by bridging our services to meet people where they are.

“The biggest trend I’ve noticed during the pandemic is increased accessibility,” says Clinical Case Manager Tonoa Manuel. Because of how rapidly we adapted to using telehealth services, I can meet people where they are and provide services to them, which is HUGE. By offering services in different ways – both digital and in-person — I believe that this allows for us to better meet the needs of our communities.”

We know now that when mental health services are available both in person and through telehealth, people have better access and are more engaged. They miss fewer appointments and are more motivated to achieve their goals.

We also know that the pandemic has affected people mentally in negative ways. Many people feel compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, social isolation, and economic stress. When we see these trends towards poor well-being, creating a well-being plan or adapting the one you have can help.

Adapt your well-being plan to where you are now

A well-being plan is all the things we do to keep our well-being good. Things like exercising, eating nutritious food, getting enough sleep, socializing with loved ones and seeing a therapist all contribute to our overall health and create our well-being plan when they are put together.

The pandemic affected how we approach our individual well-being plans. Not only did the logistics of how we exercised, cooked, and spent time with people change, but the consistent trauma of living through a pandemic caused a lot of added stress. For many people, attending to their well-being felt like trying to fill a broken cup. No matter how much we try to pour into a broken cup, the liquid leaks out anyway, and faster than if the cup were whole.

“When we think about changing our well-being plan, we have to remind ourselves, ‘What used to work for me isn’t working anymore. The things I did in the past worked then, but they don’t now. So what can I do to modify my well-being plan?’ This gives me permission to change and do something different,” says Director of Clinical Services Steve Fisher.

Take some time to think about what your needs are now and how you can update your well-being plan to fit them. Your plan is personalized to you – what works for someone else may not be the right fit for you. As you adapt your plan to fit what you need now, remember to be kind to yourself. If you need support, we encourage you to check out You@YourBest for tools and tips to promote your well-being.

The WellPower is committed to ending the discrimination and anti-Black racism that runs throughout our society. Over the past year, we formed organizational workgroups to respond to the anti-Black racism crisis and are committed to leading further change.

Our Commitments

We are currently working toward the following priorities:

• Strengthening our recruitment and retention efforts of Black clinicians.
• Enhancing our vendor relationships with Black- and minority-owned businesses.
• Hosting and engaging in community forums with the Black community.
• Supporting Black-owned organizations advancing social justice.
• Expanding and deepening partnerships with organizations focused on the health of the Black community.
• Advocating for legislation and policies that advance equity.

Current Efforts & Accomplishments in Ending Anti-Black Racism

• Assessing our job interview and selection processes to reduce bias.
• Working with Metro State University (the most diverse university in the Denver area) to offer training and recruitment opportunities for students.
• Partnering with professional organizations, such as the National Association of Black Social Workers, to recruit new hires.
• Supporting other organizations that work to end anti-Black racism through financial sponsorships.
• Training staff on advocacy work and topics related to diversity, equity and inclusiveness.
• Encouraging voter registration among staff and people we serve.
• Engaging our newly formed public policy team.
• Expanding the way we collect demographic data in our electronic health record, including adding race categories from which individuals can self-identify.
• Improving data collection in our electronic health record to identify any discrepancies in our care.
• Training staff on 911 dispatch best practices to guide appropriate use of police, and ensuring police are trauma-informed when they do need to be called.
• Earning a top employer designation from DiversityJobs.com for the second year, as a result of our consistency around diverse recruitment efforts.
• Listening to and engaging with the Black community to inform our initiatives, including understanding where we are currently present and where we need to show up more strongly.

Next Priorities

We know our work is far from over – it’s an ongoing effort. So, our next priorities will increase our capacity to continue this work in our community.

• Conduct surveys on health in the Black community, and compensate participants for their time.
• Receive consultation from community leaders to train our staff on anti-Black racism.
• Develop a new risk assessment scale that includes anti-Black racism as an indicator. A risk assessment like this does not currently exist.
• Expand paid internships.
• Strengthen nationwide recruitment at schools outside of the Denver-Metro area.
• Host focus groups to get feedback on our new tools, such as our telehealth app, and compensate participants for their time.
• Integrate decision-making support into our electronic health record, such as pop-up messages that provide information and treatment recommendations based on average demographic trends.
• Create a process where a person we serve can request specific attributes in a therapist they would like to see (e.g., a Black therapist, female therapist, therapist who understands a specific religion, etc.).