NIH Seminar Series: The Mental Health and Well-being of Biomedical Researchers
Explore the critical issue of mental health in the biomedical research community.
Why? Biomedical trainees (1) and researchers (2) report anxiety and depression at rates far greater than the general population.
Goal: Increase awareness and provide coping strategies and tools to help participants support their own mental health and that of others
For whom? Trainees at all levels, PIs and other researchers, administrators, and faculty both at the NIH and in the extramural community
How? Address a new mental health issue that affects biomedical researchers each month through
- An opening webinar
- Q&A and small-group discussions facilitated by experienced mental health practitioners
- In-depth strategy development and skills practice, e.g., perfection management, executive functioning, mindfulness
NOTE: Information on the discussion and skills-based groups will be provided to those who attend the monthly webinars in follow-up emails.
Tentative Schedule
Sign language interpreting services and live captioning will be provided for this event. Individuals who need other reasonable accommodations to participate in this event, or would like a sign language interpreter for the small group should contact Jackie Newell (newellj@nih.gov) or the Telecommunications Relay Service @ 711. TRS enables standard voice telephone users to talk to people who have difficulty hearing or speaking on the telephone. Requests should be made as soon as possible.
All Webinars will run from 3:00 to 4:10 pm (ET).
| Topic | Webinar Date | Supplemental Sessions | Registration Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stigma and Culture | December 6, 2021 |
Difficult Conversations: December 9, 2021, 12pm Emotional Regulation Skills Group: December 16, 2021, 12pm |
Register |
| Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders | January 10, 2022 |
Managing Social Anxiety: January 20, 2022, 12pm Perfectionism Management Skills January 27, 2022, 12pm |
Register |
| Depression and Depressive Disorders | February 7, 2022 |
Supporting Mentees: February 17. 2022, 12pm |
Register |
| Community Wellness | March 7, 2022 | Community Wellness: April 25, 2022, watch for a follow-up email with times. | Register |
| Executive Functioning | May 2, 2022 | Executive Functioning: May 5 and 12 at 12 pm | Register |
For More Information
- If you are outside the NIH, join NIH-OITE-INFO listserv.
- If you are AT the NIH, email us at oite-wellness@nih.gov.
- Find webinars from the 2021 series in this playlist on the OITE YouTube Channel.
1. A series of 2018 articles in Nature (see, e.g., https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4089) convincingly demonstrated an incidence of depression and anxiety in the graduate school population (~40%), more than 6 times the rate observed in the general population. Rates are even higher in marginalized graduate student populations.
2. A 2020 study, What Researchers Think about the Culture (https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/what-researchers-think-about-the-culture-they-work-in.pdf) commissioned by the Wellcome Trust, reports similar lack of well-being among researchers, predominantly in the sciences, at all career levels.
Check out our Videos for PIs on the OITE YouTube Channel
Strategies and Tools for Dealing with Stress during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Supporting the Mental Health and Wellness of Biomedical Trainees
Supporting Yourself and Your Trainees during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Resilience in the Job Search, Work, and Life
Navigating Transitions: Going Back to the Workspace
and more ...
