A new year brings promise and challenges. Iowa State offers programs to assist faculty and staff in numerous ways. Whether you put a focus on self-care or want to make financial changes, here's a reminder about options available to all employees.
Honored
Iowa State was awarded a 2024 Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America. The Bell Seal is a first-of-its-kind workplace mental health certification to recognize employers striving to create mentally healthy workplaces for their employees.
Support options
Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Free access to confidential, professional services for dealing with a personal problem. Licensed professional counselors help address stress, anxiety, depression, parenting, relationships, substance abuse, and legal and financial concerns. The goal is to find solutions before the problem affects someone's health or job performance.
On-site counseling: Melanie Clark is an EAP counselor who comes to campus once a week for in-person counseling sessions with employees or their family members. Clark is on campus Mondays (9 a.m.-4 p.m., last appointment begins at 4 p.m.). Her accessible campus office is on the first floor of the Communications Building.
Mental health website: Lists of emergency and nonemergency services for employees, family members or students in distress.
Self-help options
Adventure2: A free online portal with individual and team activities that improve well-being. Topics address physical, mental, emotional and work issues. Participants earn points throughout the year and receive prizes. Adventure2's services portal provides access to tools such as the parenting success portal for family-related content or the enrich financial portal for financial planning.
Free trial membership
Recreation services is offering ISU employees a free seven-day trial membership Jan. 13-19. The week includes facility tours and daily class samplings during the noon hour (registration requested), or just show up during regular hours and try out your options.
Therapy Assistance Online (TAO): Free, instant access to tools that help participants address their mental well-being. Content includes psychoeducational sessions, video conferencing, a mindfulness library, logs, journals and a progress tracker.
Health benefits
Benefits: ISU health benefits cover mental health counseling with a small copay/coinsurance. Remember, some preventive health services are fully covered without a copay or coinsurance in both the HMO and PPO plans.
Training to help others
Mental Health First Aid: Teaches participants how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders in others. This training -- provided throughout the year by ISU Extension and Outreach -- gives participants the skills to reach out and provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to the appropriate care.
