Well Wisconsin Radio

Interviewer:

Hello and welcome to Well Wisconsin Radio, a podcast discussing health and wellbeing topics with experts from all around the state of Wisconsin. I’m your host Deb Ognar, and today my guest is April McCutchen. April is a seasoned mental health professional with nearly 20 years of experience helping individuals build resilience and thrive. For the past four years, she has served as a mental health coach with WebMD Health Services, where she supports participants in cultivating wellbeing from the inside out. In addition to this role, she works as a contract therapist, guiding people through evidence-based strategies to better manage stress, anxiety, and depression. Passionate about personal growth and human potential. April believes mental health is an essential pillar of whole person wellness. And it’s dedicated to empowering others to reach their fullest potential.

April, welcome to our podcast. I’m so happy you’re joining us as a guest today. Thank you so much, Deb, and thanks for having me. For our listeners, I’m curious, we want to hear a little bit about your journey. Could you start by telling us a little bit about your background and what led you to work in the mental health field?

Guest:

Sure. So as you said, I have worked in the mental health field for nearly 20 years and throughout that time I’ve remained deeply passionate about supporting people through their healing. Growth and life transitions. My background spans a wide range of areas including marriage and family therapy. I’ve worked in the schools doing school-based therapy with children and families. I’ve also done substance abuse treatment, as well as worked with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. So I kind of go where I feel led in each place that I have been. I always feel like I’m on divine assignment, having had the opportunity to really walk alongside people from such diverse backgrounds has shaped my approach and strengthened my belief in each person’s capacity to heal and to create meaningful change, so about four years ago when I joined WebMD, um, I expanded my work to include coaching. It was new to me at the time, but I began to recognize that not everyone needed intensive therapeutic interventions. That many people were seeking clarity, motivation, and structured support to move forward with their goals and coaching gave me the flexibility to meet people exactly where they were and to help them build momentum toward the lives they want to live. So ultimately, whether through therapy or coaching, my goal is and remains to empower people to grow, connect deeply with themselves and to create sustainable, fulfilling change.

Interviewer:

That’s wonderful. Thanks for sharing that, April. You have a wide variety of experience that serves well with the coaching and the therapy. For listeners who may not be familiar, what exactly is mental health coaching and how does this differ from therapy, counseling, or employee assistance programs?

Guest:

That’s actually a great question, Deb, and a lot of people don’t understand the difference between all of that, so I’m happy to break that down. Mental health coaching is a proactive, goal-oriented approach that focuses on building emotional resilience, managing stress, and developing healthy coping strategies. Unlike therapy, which often focuses on diagnosing and treating mental health conditions, while exploring the past. In therapy, coaching is about the here and now, the present and how to move forward. It’s about helping people identify what’s getting in their way and creating a plan to, to move them forward in the goals that they have. The Employee Assistance program is a program where people can receive counseling and usually employers will provide a designated number of sessions at no cost to the employee. It is short term therapy for clinical needs, while again, coaching helps people to build those skills and habits to sustain long-term wellbeing.

Interviewer:

Thanks for breaking that down. That’s really helpful to hear those differences. That actually leads to another question. Do you ever see participants working with both a mental health coach and a therapist or counselor at the same time? And if so, how can these two types of support complement each other?

Guest:

Absolutely Deb. So yes, we do commonly see people doing, you know, at least two out of the three. Either a combination of therapy and coaching or employee assistance and coaching, because again, the employee assistance program is also, therapy is just shorter term. Um, and a therapist is usually there to help someone, like I said before, work through deeper emotional patterns or clinical concerns. Therapists will help their clients explore the why to behavior, like how did we get to using these behavior patterns? Because behavior is a form of communication that develops, throughout our lives, and it develops based on our life experiences. And so life experience is an important part of therapy. Even utilizing the employee assistance program, therapy is going to provide understanding and healing. Coaching is going to provide that structure, accountability, and momentum, so a person may be working and coaching on habit changes. We believe, and I’ll talk more about this I’m sure throughout our time together, but we believe in tiny habits. So small sustainable changes that you can build upon that have huge impact and that’s what coaching is really all about. And so you’ll see people dealing with their deeper issues. And therapy and also learning to build healthy habits for their physical and mental and coaching.

Interviewer:

That’s great. Thanks for explaining that. I think that’s, you know, you walked us through the support participants receive. That being said, WebMD does offer other coaching solutions like lifestyle coaching or coaching classes to name a couple. How does mental health coaching differ from those types of coaching solutions?

Guest:

So WebMD’s Mental Health Coaching Program offers one-on-one telephonic. Sessions with trained certified coaches. So our mental health coaches have backgrounds in mental health. All of us actually have degrees and operate as therapists in other arenas and we are able to bring that therapeutic knowledge to the coaching process. Also it differs because you will have continuity in the mental health coaching program, meaning you will have the same coach that works with you throughout the duration, um, where in other programs you may work with different coaches, which is, is also great because you’re able to get different perspectives and different tools that way. But in mental health coaching. The relationship with one coach matters significantly, so people can expect to have a long-lasting relationship with their coach. That is built on trust and consistency.

Interviewer:

I think that’s important, right? When talking about working with someone, coaching or therapy wise, as far as having that consistency. So yes, you can build that trust and that connection so that, I think that’s important. I imagine people come in with certain expectations. What surprises people the most when they start working with the mental health coach?

Guest:

Let’s see. What surprises people the most? I think one, people seem to be surprised by how easily they open up to a complete stranger. I hear that a lot. I also find that people are surprised by. How supportive we are as coaches, how we don’t badger them. We encourage, we nudge, we motivate and we don’t judge them. And I think people are surprised by how we’re not making them feel bad about themselves if they don’t reach a goal or if they don’t take actions that they said that they wanted to take, but instead we explore, okay, what were the barriers? What got in the way of you doing this? Or has something changed? Is this no longer the focus? That’s okay too. So I, I think people are surprised by just. Being able to be heard and to be felt on a different level.

Interviewer:

Yeah, I think that’s important. How does it go? Being heard, seen and understood, right?

Guest:

Yes.

Interviewer:

Yes. So as people continue on, what kind of outcomes or transformations have you seen in people who work with a WebMD mental health coach?

Guest:

Oh, that’s a great question. The outcomes are probably my favorite part about doing this job. So we’ve seen some major transformations of people, you know, losing weight, people gaining more control over their emotions. So developing the skills to regulate emotion, we see people embrace their freedom to be who they are and we even see small changes, where people just simply learn the art of breathing. And you would be surprised by how many people. don’t recognize their breath and how shallow it is and how often they hold their breath when they’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed. So we see people being able to be more mindful about their breathing, which does wonders mentally and physically.

Interviewer:

I think that’s important. Yes. Being in the present and being now, I love that about being mindful.

And now we’ll just take a quick break to hear about some of Well Wisconsin’s program offerings.

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Here’s what a fellow Well Wisconsin coaching participant said about their experience.

Testimonial:

Hi, I am giving my testimonial on a health coaching session that I’ve been attending. I believe that they are very beneficial to someone that is going through, um, a sudden hard time. It was very easy to connect with the coach and it was very easy to have them call me when I needed them to and provide me the resources that I needed at that time to feel safe. I also enjoyed how, uh, kind it was when I was talking to the health coach. I felt very connected and close to the health coach, even though I hadn’t met them in person. And they also shared with me my scores from my portal from back in October to now and they improved. And so I was really appreciated being able to get that information shared with me. And, um. I feel positive about the interaction, and I would recommend this program to anybody that is available. Thank you. Bye.

Interviewer:

And now we’ll head back to the Well Wisconsin radio interview.

When we zoom out to the workplace. Research shows that over half of employees experience mental health challenges, yet many don’t feel the workplace addresses it. So why do you think that gap still exists?

Guest:

Another great question, Deb. That gap I believe still exists partly because of stigma. Even though awareness has grown, people still worry about how they will be perceived. Another reason is that some organizations focus on surface level programs rather than integrating mental health into their culture. So real progress happens when leadership models healthy behavior and when support feels safe, accessible and confidential.

Interviewer:

Those are great examples. Love to hear that. And I think, like you said, when employees feel supported, um, by the leadership, that can have a huge impact. What are some common stressors you see among employees today?

Guest:

Common stressors among employees. Workload and burnout are huge, um, especially with blurred lines between work and personal life. Many of us are in this work from home culture where sometimes one spills over into the other and that can create burnout. We also see stress related to constant change –job security and information overload. Things are constantly changing in our economy that are affecting the workplace. And with those constant changes, people are having to learn new things and lots of new things at once, and having to make pivots more often than before. I think on a personal level, many are managing caregiving responsibilities along with these high pressure job roles and also financial pressures. Some are even experiencing social isolation, all of which compound workplace stress. Those are a lot of stressors that can be at play. You can see why mindset becomes really crucial in this.

Interviewer:

So, we often talk about helping people change their personal stories. What exactly does that mean and how can reframing our inner narrative and prove mental wellbeing?

Guest:

So, our personal story is the internal dialogue we carry, the way we interpret experiences and define who we are. Sometimes that story becomes limiting where we say things to ourselves like, I’m not good enough, or I always mess things up. Reframing means stepping back. Questioning those assumptions and writing a new story that’s more compassionate and empowering, that shift in mindset can dramatically change how we experience stress and challenges. So it’s all about learning to quiet what we call the inner critic and to strengthen the voice of that inner coach.

Interviewer:

I love that. Reframing those narratives is incredibly useful. And I think hearing, yes, quieting the inner critic is so important. Mm-hmm. But sometimes people still just hit a wall. They can feel overwhelmed, burnt out. How do they know when to seek support versus just handling themselves?

Guest:

A good sign that it’s time for extra support is when stress starts to interfere with your daily functioning. So if you notice changes in your sleep, your relationships, your focus, or even your motivation, then it’s a good sign that it is time to seek support and that may start with friends and family and then extend into professional support. Also, if you’re feeling stuck or you’ve tried coping strategies and they’re not helping, reaching out for additional help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. So you don’t have to wait until things feel unmanageable. In fact, I don’t recommend waiting until things feel unmanageable, but really trying to be proactive when you notice changes.

Interviewer:

That’s a really helpful way of thinking about seeking out support. As we wrap up today, what advice or small actionable step would you leave our listeners to start improving their mental health?

Guest:

So, one small but powerful step that I often encourage is to pause once a day and check in with yourself. So. Pause is an acronym. It’s often used in Al-Anon, but it can be applied to anyone in their daily life. And it stands for postpone action until Serenity Emerges. So you want to take a moment to pause and check in with yourself gently and without judgment. You want to ask yourself three simple questions. One, what am I feeling right now? Two, what do I need? And three, what’s one small thing I can do today to support myself? And this practice takes less than a minute, but it builds awareness, it reduces emotional overwhelm, and it helps you reconnect with your needs before burnout or stress pile up. Mental health improves in small, consistent moments like this by learning to listen to yourself and respond with compassion. So again, learning to quiet that inner critic and strengthen the voice of the inner coach.

Interviewer:

I love that acronym. Pause. That’s a great tip. Thank you so much for joining me today, April. I really appreciate your time and offering so much value to our listeners today.

Guest:

Thank you, Deb. It’s my pleasure and I am so glad that you had me.

Interviewer:

Thanks for listening to Well Wisconsin Radio. I hope you enjoyed the show. We’re always eager for new ideas. Know an expert we should connect with. Complete our survey and let us know. You can find our survey in the well Wisconsin portal in our transcripts and previous episodes all at www.webmdhealthservices.com/WellWisconsin Radio. If you’re listening to this podcast on your platform of choice, be sure to subscribe so you can never miss an episode.

 

The information in this podcast does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used as a substitute for health care from a licensed healthcare professional. Consult with your healthcare provider for individualized treatment or before beginning any new program.