Engage in Mental Health and Well-Being
Starting conversations around mental health can be challenging. More often than not, simply asking a question and showing you genuinely care will be enough to start the conversation, even if not with the perfect words. In this issue of TD at Work, Catherine Wemette guides readers in helping others understand the importance of focusing on mental health in the workplace and how to do that by:
- Explaining the scope of mental health
- Outlining how talent development professionals, managers, and others can begin mental health conversations in the workplace
- Offering tips for understanding when TD professionals and others in the organization need to escalate the conversation to a trained healthcare professional
Tools & Resources in this issue are a mental health conversation tip sheet and a list of mental health resources as well as bonus Active Listening Training Exercises and a bonus Mental Health Awareness Worksheet.
Note: This issue of TD at Work is not intended to provide professional mental healthcare advice but rather to guide workplace conversations around supporting better mental well-being.
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![Catherine Wemette.jpg]()
Full ProfileWith almost 20 years of management experience in fields including banking, associations and retail, Catherine Wemette (she/her/hers) has a unique perspective on how to get the best out of people. She started Good for the Soul LLC in 2014 to help organizations cultivate their talent and get results through coaching, facilitation, training and project management. As the chief goodness officer, she is responsible for helping others achieve their success and celebrating wins along the way. Most recently, she worked with the American Institute of Architects as their first Director of Employee Learning and Engagement, overseeing five years of continued growth in their employee engagement as measured by Gallup’s Q12 survey.
Prior to taking an association hiatus to work for her favorite shoe designer, John Fluevog, Catherine served as the membership director for the Licensing Executives Society (USA & Canada). Additional association experience includes the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) in chapter relations, membership and education departments.
Catherine is a life-long learner and an avid West Wing fan. In the theme of “what’s next?” she most recently earned her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the HR Certification Institute in 2020. She earned her executive certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown and received her Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential in 2020. She also received her Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential in 2009 and is a member of both the International Coaching Federation and ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership. She completed her Master of Public Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management from The George Washington University and graduated from Hope College in Holland, Michigan with a BA in communications and political science. In her spare time, she tries to figure out how a Minnesota girl ended up in Virginia with no snow for any sort of regular skiing (though she is a fan of the Virginia wineries, so it’s not all bad news).
