A New Take on Mental Health at Work

Ever worked in a toxic environment? Ever have interactions with your boss that leave you feeling less than? Ever experienced an incident at work that left you shaken and unsure?

What is missing in the workplace that could help improve the conditions?

Two things. 1) Trauma Literacy (or being trauma informed) 2) In-house Clinicians. I’m going to tell you about both, as they could be game changers for your mental health, as well as, for the bottom line.

What is Trauma Literacy? (Or being Trauma Informed)

Trauma literacy is simply the ability to spot past trauma (or unhealed wounds from past trauma experiences) in today’s behaviors. Recognition of past experiences and how they impact, or show up, in behavior in the present is not a soft skill, and it’s not intuitive to most people. Taking it a bit further, trauma literacy, or being trauma informed, also means navigating and responding to those behaviors with compassion and curiosity to increase a felt sense of safety for those around you, in whatever context or setting. Although you can’t make something safe for someone, you can certainly contribute to increasing pathways towards safety and resilience, while reducing pathways towards harm and ineffective behavior.

In a workplace context, these behaviors can be misinterpreted, and labeled as incompetence, inability, and unwillingness. What’s really going on in these behaviors is a trauma response- fight, flight, freeze, or fawn (people-pleasing). If managers lack trauma literacy, then they are likely missing these cues, and mislabeling the behavior, which often impacts how they treat and interact with a person. If you believe someone is just not capable, or someone is just awesome at going above and beyond, instead of recognizing the external manifestation (the behavior you see) as a nervous system response to a reminder of a past experience, then you need some more training. Training relevant to today’s workforce. Excelling in skills like forecasting growth or outcomes, financial or marketing strategy, performance or project management is only going to take you so far with the needs and expectations of today’s workforce. Unhappy, unseen, and stressed-out employees will not produce good work, ultimately having a negative impact on your bottom line. According to the 2023 Work in America™ Survey, 58% of workers report poor mental health due to toxic environments. This survey also found employee turnover caused by toxic work environments cost businesses $223 billion over a five-year period. In contrast, a Harvard Business Review study found that workers who feel psychologically safe show a 76% increase in engagement, a 50% increase in retention, and a 67% increase in referrals.

The lesson for managers and leaders? Trauma literacy and trauma informed skills are essential. If you want good business then you better have good skills, because today one does not come without the other.

What is an In-House clinician?

A clinical expert placed directly into the workplace culture, and is readily available to provide mental health support and education for employees. Employees are dealing with increased pressure, blurred work-life boundaries, and increasingly complex personal challenges — and they expect their employers to provide meaningful support that’s readily available. Current research cites that 66% of American employees in 2025 report experiencing some form of burnout, with younger generations facing even higher levels. In addition, 83% of employees believe it’s the employer’s responsibility to create work conditions that prevent employees from developing work-related mental health problems. I couldn’t agree more! Support, and options, for employee mental health is no longer an extra perk or benefit—but a full-on requirement for healthy and productive workplaces. A clinician in the workplace assists with real time needs and creates a culture where conversation about mental health is normalized, not stigmatized. Whether someone is navigating daily stressors or facing an unexpected crisis, they can access a trusted, on-site, or easily accessible by video, professional who understands their work environment and can offer immediate, personalized support.

This is the future of mental health support at work. And the future is now!

Managers, leaders, and owners might be thinking that AI is going to solve this issue for them. Well, think again. This is NOT it. This is NOT what real people, with real problems, are looking for. While AI apps and chatbot tools seem good in theory and claim to make mental health care scalable, they often fall short of real-life needs. To truly support mental health in the modern age, we need to go beyond traditional methods, like use of EAPs, and other one-size-fits-all models, and reimagine what real support for real people at real workplaces looks like. More than ever, workplaces need clinical experts on site to provide inclusive, human-centered support for ongoing mental wellness. By hiring in-house clinicians, mental health care is integrated seamlessly into the fabric of your workplace, making support more accessible, more personal, and more enduring. This innovative approach reduces barriers to care, helps ensure support is a part of daily work life, and empowers organizations to build a culture of mental wellness — where your employees can interact and thrive together. This is where your mission statement meets your workplace culture, and both are in alignment.

You know the business. You know the metrics. You know the strategy. But do you know the people? If you went to business school, you probably didn’t learn much about human psychology and behavior. This is where having an expert in humans, human interaction, relationships, and mental health embedded into the work environment is imperative as a business decision. Would you use a finance expert to design and execute your marketing strategy? Then why would you use a project manager to address the mental health needs of your employees? Right, that doesn’t make sense. Clinicians have spent their entire careers working with people, lots of people, lots of different people, in lots of different contexts. They have the expertise to respond to crisis incidents and everyday wellness at your workplace. In-house clinicians are the lynchpin in bridging gaps between leadership and workers, fostering trust, authenticity, effective communication, emotional intelligence, reducing stigma, and preventing burnout. There doesn’t need to be a crisis or serious workplace incident to spark conversation and awareness about mental health and wellness. Prevention is powerful and by weaving mental health into everyday conversations and workflows it’s more likely employees will feel supported, manage issues with better skills, and engage interpersonally with each other in more effective ways, making a more harmonious workplace. Who doesn’t want that?!

Investing in workplace clinicians isn’t just about supporting employees. It’s about transforming workplaces into thriving environments for the humans who work there. The measurable benefits these clinicians bring ripple across the organization including reduced burnout, enhanced wellbeing, and improved job satisfaction for employees. While increasing financial ROI through reduced absenteeism, creating stronger retention and reduced turnover, enhancing productivity and performance, and outwardly promoting a positive workplace culture, which can bring in more talent and/or more customers.

In-house workplace clinicians represent a groundbreaking shift in how organizations approach mental health care and employee wellness. By placing expert clinicians directly into the workplace setting, you’re not just addressing immediate concerns — you’re building a culture of trust, resilience, and wellness that drives long-term success, which is a win, win, win for everyone. Wouldn’t you like to build a workplace where mental health and optimal performance thrive together, instead of compete? Take the leap! Try something new! Be the one to create a culture of support, connection, and care for humanity— where every person feels empowered to bring their best self to work.  How do we do this? By using trauma informed principles and practices. And what are these exactly? Trauma-Informed care is a not clinical skill; it’s a people skill. It’s a recognition of the impact of bad stuff happening to and around people, even if it didn’t happen to you, and acting accordingly, or rather adjusting actions accordingly, to increase safety, and reduce harm. Clinical experts can educate everyone and guide the way to a healthier environment at work.

Trauma informed skill acquisition is available to everyone.

And trauma informed is the way...the way of the future. Are you in? Download my In-house Workplace Clinician E-book. Or take my Emotional Intelligence Quiz. Then reach out, and let’s LEVEL UP the workplace together.

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Not only am I a practicing clinician, I am a Vetted & Verified Trauma Informed Subject Matter Expert for Integrate Network, an Award-winning affinity group empowering professionals with human-centered communication and trauma-informed decision-making skills for a compassionate, resilient workforce. Learn more about me on my website.