Facebook pixelMental Health Support for Frontline Workers
Go to home page
Go to home page

Mental Health Support for Frontline Workers

D Magazine logo, with white text on a red background.

D Magazine

Plamedie Ifasso

How organizations are supporting their employees' health needs and reducing stress during the pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the amount of feeling stress and uncertainty, DFW health systems are stepping up to provide mental health services to those on the front lines of the pandemic.The Center for BrainHealth: Stress Resilience For Front LinesThe Center for BrainHealth has recently started Stress Resistance for the Front Line. The free program gives healthcare workers and first responders virtual access to self-paced cognitive training programs covering topics such as stress and sleep solutions and building memory and reasoning, interactive Zoom resilience sessions led by the Center’s expert clinicians, and a video series discussing tips on increasing brain health. “There’s no cost to any first line or for first responders,”  Dee O’Neill, head of executive and corporate solutions, said. They have access to our website they can choose whichever pieces they want to take advantage of. We’re trying to be really sensitive to their time. Everything is sort of in a really small chunk so they can easily fit it into a break or lunchtime or afterward the weekends or times they aren’t working.” Part of the University of Texas at Dallas, The Center for BrainHealth is a research institute dedicated to preserving and strengthening brain health. The Center was able to raise $65,390 for the Stress Resilience program through the North Texas Giving Tuesday Now and a matching donation from a board member. Because the program was just launched, it is too early to analyze its impact, but the center will continue to offer the program and will continue to look for funding in order to continue providing the program to frontline workers for free, O’Neill says. “What we hope to do is follow some of the folks who actually go through the whole series or go through some of the sessions, so that we can see what’s the impact that they notice and what they find most valuable,” O’Neill said. “Then we’ll make changes from there, what’s been the feedback and what is the most helpful.” Read full story on D Magazine.

Share this article

Brain Breaks and Deep Breaths to Help Ease the Stress

In addition to the brain breaks, another stress resilience tool is to practice deep breathing. A low and slow inhale of breath followed by a longer exhale.

Center for BrainHealth Researchers Confirm Improvement in First Responders’ Brain Health After Shortened Training Protocol

SMART™ training has demonstrated an ability to improve cognitive function and psychological well-being. These results can even make long-lasting improvements to brain health outside of training, in everyday life.