Faces of U of T Medicine: David Goldbloom
Psychiatry Professor David Goldbloom is a strong advocate for workplace mental health initiatives and the employees they serve. He also is a keen supporter of occupational therapy in mental health practice. Goldbloom spoke to writer Sandra Sokoloff about championing mental health in the workplace.
How has your work investigated mental health?
Much of my work has been advocating for supports in the workplace for people living with mental health conditions. It is where my patients who are working spend the majority of their waking hours! It was an opportunity to try to improve things, not simply for the patients I see but also for people I will never see. I was intrigued by the opportunity to get the message out to workplaces – from oil and gas pipefitters’ lunchrooms in Empress, Alberta to the senior management boardroom at the Bank of Canada – about the reality and impact of mental illness in the workplace and the need to do things better.
What has your research shown about environments that promote mental health?
I think there is a big change from a decade ago in the way employers consider mental health dynamics to support healthy workplaces. Canada created, through the leadership of the Mental Health Commission, the world’s first and leading set of standards for psychological health and safety in the workplace. Surveys of Canadian workplaces done over the last decade confirm a growing awareness of mental health on the part of both managers and employees and an appetite to know more and do more.
Given what you know about environments that promote mental health, what steps can be taken to create them?
A starting point would be the self-assessment tools available through the Mental Health Commission of Canada. This creates a baseline that guides further action, such as using the implementation guide for the standards for psychological health and safety. But the real starting point is leadership. This cause needs to be championed at every level in a workplace, and not simply because it is the right thing to do; it is also the smart thing to do in terms of the economic bottom line, workplace culture, and employee recruitment and retention. Occupational therapy provides patients and other clinicians with a valuable perspective and a pragmatic, positive approach to mental health in the workplace, embodying the concept of recovery that equates with living satisfying and productive working lives.
What does your research show about strategies that individuals can use to support or maintain their mental health?
They can start by recognizing that if they are struggling, they are not alone – that the person in the next cubicle may well be going through something similar. They can start by speaking to someone they know and trust to reduce their isolation. They can look for help if needed, whether from their employer’s EAP or from their family physician or from an occupational therapist who recognizes both strengths and barriers and helps find adaptive solutions.
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