Workplace mental-health programs can demonstrate a huge return on investment for an organization’s bottom line, as well as reducing absenteeism and presenteeism, said Nir Yahav, mental-health specialist on the national disability best practices team at Manulife, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. There are huge costs associated with presenteeism, […]
While 2.7 million Canadians suffer from migraine, the condition can be subdivided based on its frequency, said Dr. Esma Dilli, neurologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, during Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. Episodic migraine is defined by less than 15 headache days a month, whereas […]
People don’t often make the association between nutrition and long-term mood, as well as how diet can impact the brain’s function and its structure, according to Charmaine Alexander, senior advisor on Desjardins Insurance’s disability management team. “We know that between the rise of mental illness in our current lifestyle, just as with obesity, maybe what we’re […]
On Nov. 29, the 2019 Toronto Mental Health Summit featured sessions on how employers can approach mental health in the workplace, including removing the stigma and facilitating positive return-to-work transitions. Here’s what you missed! Social connection can build or erode mental health, resilience Between 2017 and 2019, the number of individuals reporting mental-health issues has risen […]
Mental-health symptomology — such as difficulty concentrating, feelings of isolation and lack of motivation — is incredibly impactful in the workplace and makes it difficult for people to function at or return to work. “There’s no question that anxiety and depression are very prevalent in the Canadian workplace and are very relevant to plan sponsors,” […]
Over the last 40 years, the mortality morbidities of cancer, HIV and cardiovascular disease have dropped dramatically, but the mortality of suicide has gone up, according to Dr. Sam Ozersky, president and chief executive officer of FeelingBetterNow. “Ten people per day, mostly from the ages of 15 to 25, die from suicide,” he said during […]
Internet-based programs are the future of mental-health therapy, according to Peter Gove, the former innovation leader in health management at Green Shield Canada, speaking during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Toronto Mental Health Summit on Nov. 29. “Cognitive behavioural therapy is probably the most adaptable therapy to a digital environment because it’s very manualized — you […]
Mental health is the third largest health spend in terms of benefits plan management, according to Derek Weir, manager of health benefit solutions at Medavie Blue Cross. “Fifty-three per cent of Canadians consider anxiety and depression ‘epidemic’ in Canada and 85 per cent say mental-health services are among the most underfunded in health care,” he said […]
When Mark Henick, principal and chief executive officer at Strategic Mental Health Solutions, was younger, he felt he had no choice but to take his own life. In the small Cape Breton community where he grew up, few support systems were available for a young person suffering from what turned out to be severe and […]
A migraine sufferer herself, Dr. Rose Giammarco, founder and director of Hamilton Headache Clinic, told the audience at Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Mental Health Summit that migraine can be very disabling and cause tremendous burden of disease. “Clinically, these patients come in with severe headaches, throbbing pain that can last hours or days, sometimes weeks at […]