Volume_7_Issue_2_Digest

iv TPC Digest Yvette Saliba, Sejal Barden 0 ccupational stress remains a top source of strain for over 65% of Americans due to extended hours in the workplace. This type of stress can lead to chronic illnesses, such as hypertension and diabetes, which can then drive up the cost of health insurance for many employers. To combat this, many businesses and organizations have implemented workplace wellness programs. These programs have been shown to help with: (a) employee retention, (b) lowering insurance costs, (c) supporting employee mental health and (d) enhancing employee satisfaction. Wellness programs are divided into two areas of focus: (a) disease management and (b) lifestyle management. Disease management refers to treating chronic illnesses, such as hypertension and diabetes, and lifestyle management refers to preventing chronic illnesses through health promotion. Many workplaces have utilized health care professionals, such as doctors and nurses, to assist in the disease management portion of these wellness programs. As a result, these programs have become cost effective, often saving companies money. The same cannot be said, however, for the lifestyle management portions of these wellness programs. Lifestyle management programs, designed to promote health and wellness, utilize health care professionals or wellness coaches. The training of these professionals is not the same as the training for mental health counselors, and, as such, it is proposed that lifestyle management programs could be more cost-effective if they utilized counselors. In addition, counselors could provide employees with the tools for more effective and long-lasting health changes. Therefore, to bolster lifestyle management programs, as well as extend the professional reach of mental health counselors, it is suggested that counselors utilize their training and skills to work in lifestyle management programs. Through the combination of motivational interviewing and the transtheoretical model of change, counselors could help employees achieve and maintain the health and wellness changes they would like to make. Motivational interviewing is an approach to help individuals motivate themselves to change, while the transtheoretical model of change can help conceptualize and facilitate those changes. Both theories have been studied individually and shown to be effective in helping clients move successfully toward their goals. Steps to Better Health (S2BH) is a proposed 8-week psychoeducational group that combines both motivational interviewing and the transtheoretical model of change. Each week of the group engages employees in discussions and exercises to promote change talk and overcome ambivalence. A case illustration of a hospital workplace wellness group is provided to help solidify the framework. The proposed S2BH curriculum is just one example of how counselors could flex their skills within workplace wellness programs. Yvette Saliba, NCC, is a doctoral student at the University of Central Florida. Sejal Barden, NCC, is an Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida. Correspondence can be addressed to Yvette Saliba, 851 South State Road 434, Suite #1070-170, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, ysaliba@knights.ucf.edu . Counselors and Workplace Wellness Programs A Conceptual Model