P: What are the first steps a spa should take
to create a culture of mental wellbeing?
o: i think opening the discussion on what mental wellness
is is the most important thing a spa director can do. mental
wellness is still something that’s taboo, even in spas—you
hear people whisper about it, but it’s rarely discussed
openly. and those whispers generate deleterious self-talk
around people who may already be fragile. Even just
discussing one subject from the white paper will help open
that conversation. i think that building empathy around
mental wellness is very important. People need to have
hope that they can change their life.
i’d caution against assessing people’s mental wellbeing
unless they have the tools and the support to do that.
P: Is that where those protocols will come in?
o: absolutely. The protocols we’re working on are all
about giving spa professionals the tools they need.
Therapists spend all their time caring and being
empathetic, which can lead to empathy fatigue. What we
want to do is help them as a professional understand
their scope—when to manage a situation, and when to
maybe step back. We want to offer the guidance they
need to feel confident that they know that they’ve done
their best professionally, and not crossed over a line or
offered bad advice and done anything that could have a
negative impact. n
QUIcK
QUoteS:
hometown: “Kilkenny, Ireland.”
favorite spa treatment: “Massage.”
on a day off she is: “Hiking in the forest, gardening or
walking barefoot on the beach with the shorebirds.”
favorite color: “Orange.”
the last great book she read: “viktor
Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning.”
What she loves most about spa:
“I love the people and the
transformative effects of a spa
experience on the body, mind and spirit.”
MAY
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