EPISODE 7

Winter and Wellness | Raechel Pefanis (Part Two)

December 8, 2020

In the second half of our ‘Winter and Wellness’ two-part series of Just One Q, Raechel Pefanis once again shares her coaching and counselling expertise by lending insight about the impacts of the ongoing pandemic, working remotely and stigma surrounding mental health on employee mental health and wellbeing. After listening to part two of Winter and Wellness, you’ll be better able to support yourself and your employees by fostering a positive workplace culture in the face of the experiences we’re all living through together.

The stigma around mental wellness issues contributes to the feeling of shame many individuals and professionals hold in regard to advocating for resources and help. Moving forward, we need to think of mental health and overall, physical health as inseparable—because they are.

Workplaces have an ethical imperative to encourage and provide mental health support for their employees. Workplace cultures that prioritize inclusivity, including mental wellness, lead to better work output and happier workers. Investing in mental health resources is beneficial for the health of your organization and your bottom line.

Raechel Pefanis is a certified professional coach, certified CBT EMDR therapist, instructor and supervisor. Raechel is a leader at Red Maple Coaching and Counseling and this week, is joining Dr. Melissa Horne for a second feature in our next episode of Just One Q.

Raechel offers 6 key actions employers and individuals can take to better support their mental wellness this winter:

Prioritize having fun, even if in reimagined ways
Distinguish your daily “likes” from “wants”
Work on your sleep hygiene
Get a mental health professional in your corner
Minimize your bubble to eliminate toxic people
Find the right language and safe space to communicate your needs

More so now than ever, employees are thinking about how to protect and preserve their mental health. Many organizations have successfully pivoted toward remote workspaces and environments. The next step is to improve the warmness of our teams as we head into colder months.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

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ABOUT OUR GUEST

Raechel Pefanis

Registered Social Worker and Professional Coach at Red Maple Coaching & Counselling Services

Raechel Pefanis’ super power is building great teams. She knows what it takes to turn a group of professionals into a high-performing, results-achieving team. And that’s fortunate for her, because as a serial entrepreneur she relies on good people to help her chase her next big idea. Originally trained as a registered social worker, Raechel opened (and then sold) a mental health clinic that specializes in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. With a caseload focused on working with leaders, managers and team builders, she was inspired to move into the world of professional coaching, and founded Red Maple Coaching & Counselling Services. Raechel likes to think that Red Maple is her most exciting act yet, where she’s guiding her team to apply the best practices she’s learned about client work, leadership, simplicity and health, to all of their work. She has built Red Maple to be deliberately small, and it always will be. It is built on a bottom up management style where the person you see is highly empowered to meet your needs.