Mental Health Awareness Month at Yelp

May is Mental Health Month, a time to raise awareness on the importance of caring for and communicating openly about our mental health, and we understand the impact that mental health has on different aspects of our lives. Improving our mental health and wellbeing can take many forms, including talk therapy, exercise, and social connection. 

At Yelp, we encourage all our employees to prioritize their health and wellbeing, which is why we offer a number of resources: 

• Coaching: All Yelpers have access to Bravely, where they are able to connect with experts and coaches who can support them through job performance, working relationships, difficult conversations, and other crucial moments — all in a private and confidential setting.
• Talk Therapy: Yelp’s mental health provider is Talkspace where all employees and their dependents (ages 13 and older) can connect with a licensed behavioral therapist from anywhere, at any time. 
• Wellness Reimbursement: All employees are eligible for a monthly wellness reimbursement to help reach health and fitness goals. Employees can use this reimbursement towards a variety of options, including nutritional counselling, purchasing fitness equipment or sleep management courses, to name a few.

Throughout May we offered two workshops to our employees – one organized by Talkspace, Yelp’s mental health provider, and the other by Bravely, Yelp’s professional coaching platform.

• Mental Wellbeing 101 with Talkspace: Talkspace’s Director of Clinical Content, Dr. Amy Cirbus, and Senior Clinical Marketing Manager, Kate Rosenblatt, joined us for an interactive webinar that addressed what mental wellness actually looks like and what we can all do to achieve it. This event provided our employees with the resources, perspectives, and skills needed to make more informed decisions around mental wellbeing. 
• Bravely and the Stressors of the Pandemic: We invited Lydia Bowers (MILR) to help us identify some real-time tactics to address stress and burnout in our day-to-day lives.