Mental Health Resources

Trainee Assistance Program (TAP)

A joint program of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Graduate Medical Education, the TAP program gives trainees free and easy access to confidential mental health counseling and support services. Residents and clinical fellows can see a provider with specific experience assisting trainees.

In collaboration with the GME Office and the Mass General Brigham Resident/Fellow Wellbeing Council, EAP provides extended services for GME trainees. EAP's Trainee Assistance Program (TAP) provides extended hours, opportunity for virtual visits, and preferential pairing with mental health counselors with particular interest and experience in resident and fellow well-being. These services are confidential (and not entered into the medical record), FREE, and easy to access with locations at each major Mass General Brigham hospital or via telemedicine visits.

Mass General Brigham EAP helps individuals with a variety of challenges, such as relationship and family problems, conflicts with co-workers or managers, depression, substance abuse, work-related stress, legal and financial concerns, child and elder care needs, intimate partner abuse, or exposure to adverse medical outcomes and critical incidents.

In addition to immediate 24/7 access to an on-call clinician for urgent situations, EAP provides a full spectrum of resources including short-term counseling, consultation, educational programs, and links to a wide array of work-life solutions such as child and elder care. EAP also helps with referrals to a variety of mental health clinicians. No information is included in your medical record or personnel file.

Samaritans Massachusetts 24-hour Crisis Hotline

A non-denominational, not-for-profit volunteer organization dedicated to reducing the incidence of suicide by befriending individuals in crisis and educating the community about effective prevention strategies.

Free and confidential 24-hour phone lines:

• Boston: 617-247-0220
• Framingham: 508-875-4500
• Teen Line: 800-252-8336
• National hotline: 877-870-HOPE (4673)

Lyra

Starting in June 2022, Mass General Brigham employees and their families who are enrolled in the Mass General Brigham Select or Plus employee health plans have expanded access to high-quality mental health services. 

Mass General Brigham Health Plan announced a new mental health solution, in partnership with Lyra Health, to promote overall health and well-being.

Lyra provides secure and confidential access to clinically proven mental health services for members and their families, including self-guided programs, coaching, therapy, and medication management. Treatment received from a Lyra provider will not be tracked in Epic. Using advanced technology through an innovative digital platform, Lyra can quickly connect members to a first available session in three days or less with a licensed mental health clinician or psychiatrist by video, messaging, or in person.  

To encourage our residents and clinical fellows to take advantage of the mental health offerings available through Lyra, Mass General Brigham will provide no-cost coverage at the employee-only level in the Select employee health plan for residents beginning July 1 – the start of the new academic year.  

Here’s how it works:

• If you are a resident or clinical fellow who is not currently enrolled in a Mass General Brigham health plan, we will automatically enroll you in the Select plan at no cost.  
• If you are currently enrolled in employee-only coverage, payroll deductions for your health plan costs will stop after your June paycheck. 
• If you are enrolled at a coverage level other than employee-only, or are enrolled in the Plus plan, your payroll deductions will decrease by approximately $230 per year (the cost of employee-only coverage in the Select plan). 

If you have questions about your current elections, contact the HR Support Center by submitting an online request on Ask My HR.  

Mass General Brigham Resident/Fellow Well-Being Council

Mission statement

The Mass General Brigham Resident/Fellow Well-Being Council aims to improve work satisfaction and joy in practice, promote work-life integration, and implement effective solutions that improve individual physician well-being, our communal culture, and ultimately, the care of patients. This will be achieved through programs to:

• Provide residents and fellows with strategies for both acute and preventive self-care
• Promote culture change in our workplaces
• Innovate system redesign in our workflows and functions
• Collate and disseminate resources across Mass General Brigham GME training programs
• Rigorously evaluate the efficacy of these various initiatives

We do this work with the full backing and support of the Office of Graduate Medical Education at Mass General Brigham. We believe that when empowered and supported to take care of ourselves as whole people, we are more willing and better equipped to treat our patients in kind.

Co-leads for 2022-2023

• Bianca Christensen, bchristensen@mgh.harvard.edu
• Joy Tan, jctan@partners.org
• Allison Letica-Kriegel, aleticakriegel@mgh.harvard.edu

Faculty advisor

Motaz Qadan, MD, PhD

Classes

The MGH Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine offers a variety of classes on meditation, stress reduction, and yoga. They are located at 151 Merrimac Street, 4^th floor.

Physical health

Learn how to maintain your physical health, find primary care providers, and more during your training period.