Washingtonian hosted a conversation on The Role of Resiliency on Mental Health on Tuesday, December 8 in conjunction with a recent study conducted by Cigna which resulted in the Cigna Resilience Study. The study surveyed student, young adults, parents and member of the current workforce to understand how resilient they are and how resiliency can be built over time.
The event featured insights from Sandy Chung, MD, CEO of Trusted Doctors LLC, Wayne A.I. Frederick, MD, President of Howard University, Monica Schmude, President of Cigna Mid-Atlantic Market and Tamika Tremaglio, Greater Washington Managing Principal of Deloitte LLP. Each speaker specialized in the demographics studied by the Index, and was able to offer how they and their organizations are helping to build resiliency.
Some highlights from the event included:
- “In a recent study, we found that 88% of the pediatricians in Virginia have seen an increase in anxiety, depression, ADHD and other mental health disorders in their patients,” said Dr. Chung. “For families looking at your own children, it does vary based on the age of the child. Early on, it is extremely important that we look at how we’re handling and exposing our children at a very young age to challenges so that they can learn how to become resilient.”
- “College has changed, there’s no doubt about it,” explained Dr. Frederick. “but the first thing I would suggest that parents and students should be thinking about when they think of college is remind students that college is part of a journey. While that journey may look different, students still have to find ways to find joy.”
- “There are so many challenges as a result of all of this, and I have always led from a place of being authentic, empathetic and inclusive,” Ms. Tremaglio shared. “For me, it’s always been so critical to make sure that people felt like they were important…We focus on the mental heath of our people.”
Thank you to Cigna for supporting this conversation! Missed it? You can watch the full conversation below:
