Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2019 - 65

Healing Column

Mental Health First Aid

Ms. Terri Sherven
Regina, SK

Terri Sherven is an executive coach, trained in
EQi-2.0 emotional intelligence assessments. She
is the human resources/office manager at Regina
Orthodontic Group, which includes five orthodontists and 40 additional team members. She
speaks publicly about culture and strengthening
teams and feels blessed to be on the best team: her
husband, two sons, and granddaughter. This article
was written with her son, journalist Dan Sherven.

But unfortunately, when it comes to mental
health, the Canadian government says only 23%
of workers would feel comfortable talking to their
employer if they had such a problem.

One of my team members was experiencing a
mental health crisis at work. Because of emotional intelligence (EQ) and my family's experience
with mental illness, I was able to help Carrie.

Her PTSD comes from an accident that happened
when she was a child. "It was my sister's first day
of kindergarten and I was walking her to school,"
she says.

"If it wasn't for Terri, I'm not sure I would still be
alive," Carrie says as her voice starts to break.

They had just "made it past the halfway mark" on
the road, when a driver "swerved into the other
part" of the street and hit both children.

"Terri was very supportive and understanding,"
Carrie says, now starting to cry. "I was a mess.
And I didn't know how I was going to go on. I
still don't a lot of days, but Terri was like my
savior."
It's more likely that you will come across an employee that needs help with a mental illness than
one with a broken leg, and yet many employers
are not trained to deal with mental health crises.
Many of us have to take first aid and CPR classes
but not mental health first aid and most people
do not have EQ training, which could help them
build relationships and trust. EQ is the ability
to recognize your own emotions and those of
others. It enables you to use emotional information to help any type of relationship, and is vital to
leadership performance.
Authenticity, active listening, empathy,
self-awareness, and self-regulation all can help
you de-escalate mental health crises.
These traits are fundamental to EQ and also
ensure that team members trust their leaders
and feel valued for who they are. Feeling valued
contributes to individual and team productivity
and builds your organization's culture.

Winter 2019

PCSO Bulletin

Carrie suffers from many mental health problems: anxiety, depression, borderline personality
disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).

"I rolled onto the car and broke the windshield,
and then rolled over the car," Carrie says. "My
sister, who was four, was hit by the grill and then
thrown half a block." Carrie's sister, Jen, is now a
quadriplegic.
The Canadian government estimates that mental
health issues cost the economy $51 billion a year.
One in five people experience a mental health
problem in any given year, and mental health
problems are the number one cause of disability.
After the accident, Carrie lived with her aunt and
uncle while her parents were in the intensive care
unit with Jen. Carrie says her parents "weren't
there for a year and a half," and "that's where
[her] abandonment issues come from."
"Everything kind of changed that day," Carrie
says. "My parents were where I thought they
should be [with Jen], but at the same time, I was
12 years old, and I was growing, and that's when I
needed them most-and they weren't there."
If this wasn't enough, Carrie went through a
breakup and wasn't seeing her son as often
(while working at our practice) as before. "It was

Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2019