Grant: Catalyst Grant: Planning & Develop. in Mental Hlth & Addiction in the Workplace

Depression is among the most costly of all health problems to employers. This is particularly true for the health service sector, which typically employs mostly women as depression is twice as prevalent for women as for men. As a result, these workplaces can demonstrate higher than normal prevalence rates for depression. For example, in a recent health survey of 10,000 employees of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), which operates highly specialized health services in British Columbia, over 12% were likely to be experiencing depression. Importantly, approximately 50% of individuals who recover from an initial episode of depression will develop a second episode, and for those with a history of two or more episodes, the relapse/recurrence risk increases to 70-80%. To better manage and prevent depression at PHSA, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been approved as part of PHSA's Workplace Mental Health & Addiction Strategy to reduce the risk of depressive relapse. MBCT is a group based treatment that has been shown to be effective in preventing depressive relapse. However, it remains to be determined how to effectively deliver MBCT in the workplace as some employees may not be interested in participating in a group with other co-workers. Thus, the goal of this proposal is to evaluate employee preferences and the feasibility of offering MBCT as delivered in four different formats: (1) group MBCT; (2) group MBCT via the internet; (3) individual MBCT; and, (4) individual MBCT via telephone. In addition, we will evaluate the effectiveness of an MBCT training program for Employee Assistance Program practitioners who will be recruited and trained to provide MBCT. Our proposed work will help to determine which MBCT delivery format(s) is the most promising for use in the workplace and help prepare our research team/workplace partnership for future studies of implementing MBCT to prevent depressive relapse and improve workplace outcomes.