First Aid for Mental Health helps attendees identify and respond to those struggling with mental health

For Immediate Release

Contact: Julie Capozzi
Managing Director, Communications
(847) 866-4111
[email protected]

Glenview, IL – Wespath Benefits and Investments (Wespath) announces it is launching First Aid for Mental Health – a two-part live, virtual training that teaches attendees how to identify, understand and respond with empathy to people struggling with mental health. Promoting the idea that it’s OK, not to be OK, the training also teaches attendees how to accept their own mental health struggles without embarrassment or shame.

This first aid for mental health training is in direct response to the 2021 Clergy Well-being Survey results which show the continued decline across almost all dimensions of well-being (physical, emotional, spiritual, mental and financial) for United Methodist Church (UMC) clergy since the inception of the survey in 2012. The 2021 survey shows the dramatic impact of COVID-19, social and racial injustice, and the ongoing uncertainty within the UMC on clergy well-being, particularly in the areas of mental and emotional health.

“It’s clear there is an issue with mental and emotional well-being across the UMC denomination,” said Kelly Wittich, Wespath Director of Health and Well-being. “As a leader in promoting health and well-being in the UMC, we felt compelled to give the clergy and laity we serve, and those surrounding them, the skills and tools to make a difference.”

Wespath has partnered with leading consulting agency Willis Towers Watson to offer First Aid for Mental Health to the entire UMC denomination. Clergy and their spouses, Church leaders, staff and congregation members are all invited to attend, at no cost. Chris White, an international hostage and crisis negotiator for the government of the United Kingdom, will lead these sessions.

“We all have our ‘window on the world,’” states Chris. “That window is in a room. The First Aid for Mental Health concept of empathy is listening without judgement to earn the right to be allowed to enter another person’s room and look at the world through their window.”

First Aid for Mental Health does not aim to make everyone a mental health professional. Rather, it raises awareness and removes the stigma and judgment that often surrounds mental health. This awareness allows attendees to give themselves the permission to intervene when they begin to recognize someone may be in crisis.

Visit the Wespath First Aid for Mental Health event page for more information and detailed course information. Sessions begin in March.

About Wespath Benefits and Investments
Wespath Benefits and Investments (Wespath) is a not-for-profit agency that has been serving The United Methodist Church (UMC) for over a century. In accordance with its fiduciary duties, Wespath administers benefit plans and, together with its subsidiaries, including Wespath Institutional Investments, invests over $29 billion in assets on behalf of over 100,000 participants and over 100 United Methodist-affiliated institutions (as of December 31, 2021). Wespath invests in a sustainable manner that seeks to achieve positive financial, social and environmental impact while upholding the values of the UMC. Wespath maintains the largest reporting faith-based pension fund in the world. For additional information about Wespath Benefits and Investments, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Willis Towers Watson
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW) is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 45,000 employees serving more than 140 countries and markets.

We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. Our unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas — the dynamic formula that drives business performance.