By Deborah Dutton Lambert and Daina R. Dennis of Encompass Training Progra

Consider what it would be like to have a serious illness that negatively impacts your sleep, your effectiveness at work, your family life and your entire outlook on life in general? What would you do if you found out that this illness has a treatment success rate of 70% to 90%? Would you decide to get treatment or continue to struggle with the symptoms? Unfortunately about two thirds of the individuals with this illness do not seek treatment and continue to struggle! Compare this to a diagnosis of heart disease, which has a treatment success rate of about 50%.  Would you see the same percentage of individuals not getting treatment? Of course not!

So why do so many individuals with depression and/or anxiety not seek treatment? The reasons are many and complex, however, two primary ones are the stigma surrounding these neurobiological illnesses and a basic lack of understanding of how truly treatable these illnesses are.

Stigma erodes the confidence that mental health disorders are real, treatable health conditions. As such, stigma has erected both attitudinal and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. We at Encompass believe that an important place to address these barriers is within the business community. Currently, stigma within the business community is still strong as is exemplified by the fact that many of the organizations we have talked to still do not want to even use the words mental health disorder (and certainly not mental illness) within their organizations, but opt to use words like stress reduction or stress prevention. Stress reduction and prevention are certainly important in the workplace, however, the 1 in 5 who are actively struggling with a mental health disorder usually do not benefit from these programs, as they require medical treatment beyond basic corporate wellness programs.

There is no health without mental health.  Mental health is the foundation of our physical, social, and spiritual well-being.  Mental health is fundamental for the optimal well-being of individuals throughout the life span and for the well-being of the entire community (D. Ramsay, 2012).  Again, let's ask ourselves why this important life domain is virtually ignored by Corporate America?  The answer is the same as why it has been ignored by our society.  We view people with mental health conditions as "less than".  They are considered as not promotable, as not belonging in powerful or responsible positions, or even potentially violent.   Until we can have the same paradigm shift in thinking about mental health as we did about diversity in the 1970's, the situation will not improve, regardless of the improvements in treatment.   People who struggle with this neurobiological illness will continue to struggle in silence, as they fear ridicule, disrespect, and alienation from co-workers- simply stated as stigma in the workplace.

Innovations to treatment

There are many effective approaches to treatment for mental health conditions.  Approaches to treatment may include both psychotherapy and the use of medications. An individual's response to treatment is often governed by the seriousness of the disorder, the person's response to psychotherapy, and the person's response to medications (if used).

Recently a blood test for depression has been developed that will be available in the US some time in 2013 through Ridge Diagnostics. This blood test, called the MDD Score will be the first "objective diagnostic measure" for the disorder-which means you can get a diagnosis of the disease based on biological markers. You get a numerical score that suggests how likely it is that you have depression. The MDD score has the potential to improve treatment by identifying the disorder early when it is most treatable. In addition, patients may be more accepting of treatment because of a tangible blood-test result. Suddenly the patient sees a blood test that says 'this is your disorder.' It's like any other disorder. It's not in your head. It's meaningful. It's not your fault. The stigma abates and they become more involved in their own care." (A New Blood Test for Depression Proves It's Not All In Your, 1/ 25/ 2013)

If a blood test can confirm a neurobiological condition, will it be enough for Americans to have a shift in consciousness that depression and other mental health conditions are not a weakness in character, not something to be feared, but a condition that has high treatment success rates, even higher than those for cancer or heart disease?  At Encompass we hope the answer to this is YES!

For treatment to work, individuals struggling with mental health disorders must seek it. Only through the understanding facilitated by education can we knock down the barriers to treatment erected by stigma. Mental health literacy is an essential component to any company that has the desire to make a shift in culture to acceptance and understanding of mental health that will lead to healthy employees and healthy organizations.