Expanding the Mental Health Discourse Beyond the Therapy Room

Professional Experience Article

Familiar with the cliché, “Life has a way of coming full circle?”

It all started when a friend of mine, who is an Environmental Health and Safety Consultant, reached out to me during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020. She asked me to pen an article on the mental health impact from Covid-19, what it meant for leaders of organizations as they planned for work resumption, and steps organizations could actively take to cultivate a work culture that gives credence to the mental well-being of their employees.

Following that article submission, I was invited to collaborate on a webinar presentation to members of the American Society of Safety Professionals; entitled, “Promoting Mental Well-being for People of Color Within the Realms of Environmental Health and Safety.” I was then privileged to once again collaborate with my friend this year to be a session speaker at two national safety conferences, hosted by the American Society of Safety Professionals and the National Council on Safety. The events took place in Texas and Florida, respectively. We shared on the prospects of integrating mental health into existing Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. The feedback from participants was astounding!

Since 2020, my influence as a mental health professional has been expanding beyond the traditional ‘therapy room’. It is in sync with my desires. Not only do I pride myself in being a passionate psycho-therapist, I embrace my role and the responsibility of being an educator and an advocate for mental health literacy; especially in the workplace setting.

Do you want to know what is most intriguing about all of this? This new career pivot is literally taking me back to my roots. This friend of mine, my new partner, is actually a former client with whom I worked during my time as an Environmental Engineer. Absolutely no one could have convinced me that I would somehow find myself revisiting familiar pathways and interfacing with an industry that was once my stomping ground.

Much has changed in our world since the onset of the pandemic. I believe the discourse centering mental health has taken on a level of urgency that has never been seen before in our society, at least not for quite some time. A cultural shift of epic proportion is underway. Mental health professionals everywhere are being called to the forefront to lead the charge during this time of incredible change. I personally believe that we have been trained and prepped for such a time as this.

I want to invite my colleagues to be part of this revolution. The hunger for what we have to offer as educators and advocates for raising mental health awareness, is palpable. I dare you as I continue to dare myself, to say yes to opportunities when they present themselves. I dare you to go beyond your ‘therapy room’.

Written By: Georgia Bryce-Hutchinson, LMFT, M.S, MSEE, CPLC Georgia Bryce-Hutchinson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Professional Life Coach, who boasts 7 years combined professional and practicum experience in the psycho-therapy arena. She works with couples and whole families to resolve dysfunctional patterns of interaction and communication that lend to interpersonal conflict. Bryce-Hutchinson also serves as a Mental Health Consultant in the business arena. She focuses on mental health literacy, organizational wellness and promoting psychological resilience to enhance work productivity