Mental Health Matters in Healthcare: Insights from Psychiatrist Dr. Jessi Gold
When it comes to the mental health of healthcare professionals, few people understand the landscape better than Dr. Jessi Gold. As a psychiatrist who specializes in treating healthcare workers, a Chief Wellness Officer, and now the author of “How Do You Feel?”, Dr. Gold brings a unique perspective to a challenge that affects nearly everyone in medicine.
The Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Healthcare
In our latest episode of the Transforming Healthcare Coaching podcast, Dr. Gold opened up about the often unseen mental health struggles that healthcare professionals face daily:
“I’ve often felt as a psychiatrist who does healthcare worker stuff that people just assume the solution is like more of us. If we could just get more of you and why is everyone leaving? I don’t understand…” she explains.
But the reality is much more complex. Healthcare professionals often:
- Hesitate to seek help until they’re in crisis (“I didn’t hurt a patient yet, so I’m good”)
- Fear being discovered or stigmatized for having mental health concerns
- Face cultural barriers that equate asking for help with weakness
- Work in systems that aren’t built to support their wellbeing
From Medical Training to Mental Health Advocacy
Dr. Gold’s journey to becoming a healthcare mental health specialist wasn’t planned from the start. Rather, it evolved from her observations as she progressed through her own medical training.
“I’ve always been an observant human, and that has led me to question things along the way in my own training, starting as a pre-med, and wondering why we did certain things, and why the culture was a certain way,” she shared.
This curiosity led her to notice patterns: why were people afraid to ask for help? What made healthcare professionals reluctant to address their mental health? And most importantly—how could she use her skills as a psychiatrist to change this culture?
Breaking Down Mental Health Stigma in Medicine
One of the most powerful insights from our conversation with Dr. Gold was her observation about the hierarchy of mental health acceptance in healthcare settings.
“Depression and anxiety are fine, but anything else is not,” she notes, reflecting on the experiences of her patients. This limited acceptance creates a dangerous situation where healthcare workers might acknowledge some mental health challenges while hiding others that seem less “acceptable.”
Dr. Gold’s new book, “How Do You Feel?”, addresses this through composite stories of healthcare professionals at different stages of their careers—from pre-med to experienced attending—showing the unique mental health challenges at each level.
When Health Systems Meet Mental Health
As the Chief Wellness Officer for the University of Tennessee system, Dr. Gold now works to implement mental health support on a systemic level. Her approach focuses on:
- Breaking down silos between different departments and campuses
- Creating student advisory councils to ensure interventions actually meet needs
- Building databases to track mental health resources and identify gaps
- Supporting the wellness professionals who support everyone else
“I made an effort to include the faculty and staff who work in this stuff, like who do wellness or who are on the counseling staff,” she explains. “They’re not advocating for themselves, but it’s a really hard job and we need to make sure that we’re helping them stay in their roles.”
The Next Generation’s Mental Health Expectations
Dr. Gold points out a critical reality for healthcare leaders: younger generations have different expectations around work-life balance and mental wellbeing.
“Looking at Gen Z and Gen Alpha, if you don’t have work-life balance as a priority, these kids are not going to go into medicine. I wouldn’t,” she warns. “They have a lot more awareness of not just doing something because of procedure, because that’s how it’s always been.”
This shift is already happening, with newer healthcare professionals pushing back against traditional expectations and demanding more sustainable working conditions.
Small Steps Toward Better Mental Health
For healthcare professionals feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about addressing their mental health, Dr. Gold offers straightforward advice:
“Check in on yourself. Your feelings are normal, don’t judge yourself for them. For some reason, we were taught there are good and bad feelings. There’s no such thing. They’re just feelings.”
She also encourages reframing how we think about burnout and mental health challenges:
“It’s important for people to start to view having big feelings or burning out as not a failure… Our jobs are really hard. We see really hard things. All of that should burn us out, could burn us out, and we should approach it like how do I better deal with it if and when it happens?”
The Path Forward
While changing healthcare culture feels like moving a glacier, Dr. Gold reminds us that each conversation about mental health matters. Her book serves as a starting point for these discussions—creating what she calls a “hopeful domino” effect in workplaces and training environments.
Mental health matters in healthcare not just for the wellbeing of individual providers, but for the sustainability of our entire healthcare system and the quality of care provided to patients.
Taking the First Step
Ready to prioritize your mental health as a healthcare professional? Here are some starting points:
- Recognize that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness
- Start with small check-ins with yourself about how you’re really feeling
- Consider talking with a coach or mental health professional before reaching crisis
- Look for communities of healthcare professionals who openly discuss mental health challenges
- Remember that preventing burnout is better than treating it after it happens
For more support in your journey as a healthcare professional, connect with our community here, where you can explore both one-on-one coaching and our medTHRIVE community for group support or book a discovery call to connect with a coach who understands your world.
Dr. Gold’s book “How Do You Feel?” is available wherever books are sold. For those interested in connecting with Dr. Gold directly, visit her website at drjessigold.com or find her on social media @drjessigold.
