Canadian HR Reporter

www.hrreporter.com 19 Estelle Morrison is the head of national clinical operations for Snapclarity in Toronto and a registered psychotherapist. To learn more, email info@ snapclarity.com or visit www. snapclarity.com. overwhelmed by adding full 60-minute sessions to their load. This modern-era experience offers employees unique additional benefits that can help increase accessibility and uptake in receiving the right care at the right time. Evidence-based tool helps those in need Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) is making it easier for those with depression or anxiety to get the clinically proven treatment they need, all from the comfort of their home and in their own time. CBT is a clinically validated tool that examines the connection between people's thoughts, actions and feelings and is designed to help people develop healthier thinking patterns in order to address mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). CBT is also highly effective for people facing daily life issues such as conflict with co-workers, managing workloads, family crises, self-esteem issues or handling separation and divorce. Introducing iCBT into the workplace can have an extensive range of positive effects, such as: • providing a healthy outlet for negative thoughts • reducing stress or anxiety and helping create a healthier and more productive workplace • decreasing mental health-related absences • creating a greater understanding of mental health issues and helping to reduce stigma • allowing people to realize their own power in controlling or changing thoughts that lead to low mood or increased anxiety. Employers can provide employees with easy and stigma-free access to CBT treatment by incorporating an on-demand, virtual iCBT tool into their mental health program. Finding the ROI in virtual care There has been a 700-per-cent increase in court-awarded settlements due to mental injury in Canadian workplaces since 2004, according to a report by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. And with $51 billion lost each year in the Canadian economy due to mental health-related issues (according to the 2008 study "A new population-based measure of the economic burden of mental illness in Canada," employers inevitably incur about 25 per cent of those costs). A closer look at the average annual cost of inadequate mental health care in a 1,000-person company — according to the Center for Workplace Mental Health from the American Psychiatric Foundation — finds that, annually: • 1,476 workdays are missed due to mental health • 1,311 workdays are unproductive due to mental health Before the next renewal, employers should take the time to assess how their mental health-care services measure up to what employees want. They should then validate the trends by surveying employees for insights into what's working and what's not working with the coverage. What will emerge are big opportunities to fundamentally change how employees experience mental health care so they can function at their very best. Mental health has never been more of a priority — and organizations are in the business of health care, whether they like it or not. Now is the time for leaders to invest in an evidence-based solution that supports employees along the mental health continuum — from prevention to intervention to recovery support. People who can bounce back from adversity have happier relationships, enjoy better health outcomes and greater success in their working lives. CHRR

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