event Calendar
Past Events
January 19, 11 am - 12 pm PT
This class can help you learn how to determine when retirement is feasible based on projected savings and expected financial challenges in retirement. It also covers estimating how long savings may last with a solid retirement income plan. This is for those who are thinking about retirement and would like to learn how to develop a retirement income plan that tracks income and expenses through retirement.
Preparing for Retirement - Fidelity
January 3, 10 am - 12:30 pm PT - Register Here
January 11, 5:30 - 8 pm PT - Register Here
For UCRP members who plan to retire within the next five years and for vested inactive members of UCRP. Live webinars cover understanding UCRP pension benefits, retirement savings, and retiree health coverage. Preparing for Retirement presentation slides
For Spanish speakers: Ver las diapositivas de la presentación Preparándose para la jubilaciónPDF
Tuesday, December 6th, Noon - 12:50 pm
Speaker: Laura Crymble, Fidelity
This workshop can help you learn how to determine when retirement is feasible based on projected savings and expected financial challenges in retirement. It also covers estimating how long savings may last with a solid retirement income plan. We will also learn how to develop a retirement income plan that tracks income and expenses through retirement.
Thursday, November 17th, Noon - 12:50 pm via Zoom
Speaker: Michelle Ayazi
Join us for a relaxing and reenergizing guided meditation. This session will offer guided mind relaxation, deep breathing, slow movement meditation, deep body relaxation, visualization, and heart-focused meditation. No prior experience with meditation is necessary.
Thursday, November 3rd, Noon - 12:50 pm via Zoom
Speaker: Elliott DiTusa, LPCC, Employee Assistance Counselor
According to the CDC, nearly a third of US adults report that they get less than the recommended amount of sleep. A large majority can also experience difficulty falling and staying asleep. A lack of quality sleep can negatively impact our physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as our work performance. In this workshop, we will learn the importance of sleep and discuss how to take action and implement effective strategies and healthy sleep practices.
Wednesday, November 2nd, Noon - 12:50 pm
Speaker: Amy Kelly, MFY, The Children's Institute
Have you ever felt like your ex-partner is not on your team when it comes to your children? Do you feel annoyed that you are forced to continue a relationship with the person who you decided to separate from because of your children? This workshop will provide concrete tools on how to communicate differently with your ex while you both stay grounded and centered. It will help you make changes that are empirically evidenced to ultimately benefit your children. Run by the founder of The Children’s Institute, a multi location counseling center, Amy Kelly brings expertise and insight working with diverse and unique needs of children and families throughout Northern California.
Thursday, October 27th, Noon - 12:50 pm via Zoom
Speaker: Kiran Johl, LCSW, Employee Assistance Counselor
Many of us have heard or said the phrase “I am an anxious person.” As awareness about anxiety-related disorders increases, so do misconceptions about diagnoses, symptoms, and treatments. This workshop offers education about varying ways that anxiety can manifest, differences between anxiety and other diagnoses, and evidence-based treatments for managing symptoms. This workshop is appropriate for individuals supporting others with anxiety, and those exploring their own experiences with anxiety.
Tuesday, October 25th, Noon - 12:50 pm
Speaker: Kenneth Leung, Millar Financials
With so many different headline news, like Russia invasion, high inflation, supply chain issues, there are many uncertainties in the future. You have saved money for your retirement and for the unpredictable, but do you know how your money is working for you? Do you understand the stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that are hotly discussed all over the investment news? Join us for this workshop which will identify and discuss first steps to gaining basic knowledge of your investments.
Tuesday, October 18th, Noon - 12:50 pm
Speakers: Karen Patchell, MA., Elliott DiTusa, LPCC., Mary Kelly, MS, Greg Ryan
The transition back to work after baby bonding for both birth and non-birth parents can feel overwhelming under regular circumstances. During a pandemic, with remote work for many, it comes with even more challenges, and some opportunities. It can be filled with a vast array of emotions, concerns, and limitations, not to mention demanding and conflicting schedules.
Join us for this virtual panel workshop focused on understanding both positive and negative emotions related to this transition, how to establish boundaries at work, benefits and accommodations available to working parents, ergonomic strategies for multiple workstations, and self-care resources to help ease the physical and mental pressure associated with working while caregiving for a young child.
Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Thursday, October 13th, Noon - 12:50 pm (add it to your calendar)
Please join us on Thursday, October 13th for a lunch time workshop just for Berkeley Lab brought to us from the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Understanding and managing our emotions can increase our sense of well-being, motivation, empathy and ability to relate to others in a healthy way. This workshop will examine what it means to be emotionally intelligent and how to apply key concepts to create a more successful and fulfilling work/life experience.
About the Speaker:
Elliott DiTusa is one of the Employee Assistance counselors for LBNL staff and postdocs. Elliott is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with 9 years of experience working in various Employee Assistance models. His work experience also includes providing individual and couples counseling at a group psychotherapy practice. Elliott received his BS in Secondary Education from Indiana University and his MA in Counseling with a specialization in Sport and Health Psychology from Adler University. Elliott enjoys serving all members of the LBL community, and has a special interest in working with those experiencing career stress/pressure, and work/life balance challenges
What is the Employee Assistance Program? The Employee Assistance Program provides no cost confidential counseling and referral for Berkeley Lab employees. The program is available to employees, and their families and dependents. The services are completely voluntary and there is no fee for services.
Navigating Change
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm | via Zoom
Please join us on Wednesday, August 17th for a lunch time workshop brought to us from Berkeley Lab's Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Navigating Change Workshop
We have all successfully navigated changes in our lives numerous times. Despite lots of practice, we typically resist any new changes when we first hear about them, especially at work. This workshop discusses the importance of understanding our mental/emotional process as it relates to change and strategies to help ourselves move through resistance and maintain a sense of wellbeing throughout the process.
About the Speaker:
Craig Mielcarski is the Director for Be Well at Work - Faculty/Staff Health Programs at UC Berkeley which includes managing the Employee Assistance Program for LBNL. Craig is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Employee Assistance Professional with 25 years of experience. Craig received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Amherst College and his master's degree in social work from Boston University. He also has completed formal training in organizational and management consulting, critical incident response, and violence risk assessment. Craig is passionate about supporting individual and organizational health and wellness.
What is the Employee Assistance Program? The Employee Assistance Program provides no cost confidential counseling and referral for Berkeley Lab employees. The program is available to employees, and their families and dependents. The services are completely voluntary and there is no fee for services.
(Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash)
Wednesday, October 12th, Noon - 12:50 pm
Speaker: Laura Crymble, Fidelity
This workshop offers effective tips and strategies to help you save for the things that are important to you, such as building an emergency fund, paying off student loans, buying a home, saving for retirement, and more.
Thursday, October 6th
Noon - 1:30 pm
In this workshop, participants will explore the communication challenges adult children are facing when sharing caregiving duties for their aging loved ones. How can they overcome their differences and get on the same page across generations? Through presentation and participatory exercises, Katharina Dress will share different tools that can help prevent, manage and resolve conflicts on the Elder Care journey.
Thursday, September 29th, Noon - 12:50 pm via Zoom
Speaker: Julie Resnik, LCSW, Employee Assistance Counselor
Healthy boundaries in the workplace are essential to support our mental health and maintain job satisfaction. This workshop provides information about different types of boundaries, how to handle boundary challenges, and how to comfortably say “no”. We will introduce strategies to help participants establish healthy boundaries and improve work-life balance.
Wednesday, September 21st, 12:10 - 1 pm
Location: UC Berkeley Campus, Staff Community Garden, beside Li Ka Shing Center
Speaker: Angela Porter, MFT
Join us for this in-person experiential workshop where we will learn to slow down and connect. This outdoor workshop will feature simple Breema self care exercises and moving meditation, offering nurturing and vitalizing self-care practice for unifying and balancing the energies of body, mind, and feelings. We hope to see you here. Please come comfortably dressed and prepared for light movement activity.
Be Well at Work Elder Care Caregiver Summer Series Event:
“Loss, Losing and Loosening” Lessons of Grieving and Caregiving
“Loss, Losing and Loosening” Lessons of Grieving and Caregiving
Tuesday, July 26th | 12:10 - 1:30 pm | via Zoom
Speaker: Redwing Keyssar, RN, Palliative Care Clinician & Author
Email employeeassistance@berkeley.edu to Register
About the Speaker:
Redwing Keyssar, RN is a Palliative Care Clinician, author, poet, educator, national presenter, and frequent contributor to the public conversation about palliative and end of life care. Redwing offers her perspective to individuals and groups who are interested in examining the junction between our relationship to living fully and our understanding of impermanence, as well as those desiring to explore the changes needed in our healthcare system to better serve us all at the end of life.
UC Moves 2022
Wednesday, June 29, 2022 | Virtual | 7 am - 7 pm
Lace up those shoes, stretch out those legs, and get ready to join your co-workers in getting your body moving! UC Moves is an annual UC-wide well-being initiative that promotes wellness and an active lifestyle in the UC Community.
The event will be virtual again this year so you can choose 30-minutes of movement between 7 am - 7 pm on June 29th and then share your participation virtually on our KudoBoard.
Register HERE!
Be Well at Work Elder Care Caregiver Summer Series Event:
Moving Beyond the Burden of Guilt
Moving Beyond the Burden of Guilt
Thursday, June 30th | 12:10 - 1:30 pm | via Zoom
Speaker: Pamela Wirth, Founder, Power of Nature Coaching
As caregivers we can become depleted and critical about falling short of unquestioned 'shoulds' and self imposed expectations. How might we shift into a more gentle and self-replenishing mode that allows our own wellbeing while taking care of others? This session will explore simple tools to help restore balance to body, mind and emotions. Please have pen and paper handy.
Email employeeassistance@berkeley.edu to Register
About the Speaker:
Pamela Wirth is a nature and forest therapy guide and Soulstream Method coach. Pamela is the creator of the Forest Bathing Podcast and director of the 2019 Forest Bathing International Conference. She has been involved as an advisor with the Association of Nature & Forest Therapy since its conception in 2011. Pamela is also a life long practitioner and occasional facilitator of somatic movement and yoga. “My mission is to serve others in re-aligning their relationships with self, others and the sentient, alive world of our beautiful planet.”
Be Well at Work Workshops
To register, log into the UC Learning Center(link is external) and search for the name of the workshop.
Parenting
Self-Compassion for Caregivers of Children & Teenagers Thu 5/19; 12:10 – 1pm
The demands of caregiving children and teenagers, while also working, can keep us so busy and overloaded, that we are often unable to find time to think about or nurture our own needs. This can put us at risk of overwhelm, burnout, and heightened self-criticism. Join us for this interactive workshop which will focus on understanding self-compassion, how we can be kinder to ourselves during moments of stress, and strategies for turning fault-finding into recognition of all that we hold.
Leading Change - A Workshop for Managers & Supervisors
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm | via Zoom
Leading Change Presentation Slides
Employee Change Readiness Assessment & Indicators and Strategies worksheet
Please join us on Tuesday, May 24th for a lunch time workshop brought to us from Berkeley Lab's Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Leading Change Workshop for Managers & Supervisors
Resistance is a natural and even necessary part of how individuals navigate change. As managers and supervisors, we are tasked to accomplish the objectives related to organizational changes. In order to be successful, we need the individuals on our team to be willing to change some behaviors. This workshop discusses elements of organizational change, the nature of resistance, and strategies to help lead people through a change process.
About the Speaker:
Craig Mielcarski is the Director for Be Well at Work - Faculty/Staff Health Programs at UC Berkeley which includes managing the Employee Assistance Program for LBNL. Craig is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Employee Assistance Professional with 25 years of experience. Craig received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Amherst College and his master's degree in social work from Boston University. He also has completed formal training in organizational and management consulting, critical incident response, and violence risk assessment. Craig is passionate about supporting individual and organizational health and wellness.
What is the Employee Assistance Program? The Employee Assistance Program provides no cost confidential counseling and referral for Berkeley Lab employees. The program is available to employees, and their families and dependents. The services are completely voluntary and there is no fee for services.
(Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash)
Reframe to Refresh: Why Our Thoughts Matter
Thursday, April 28 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm | via Zoom
Please join us on Thursday, April 28th for a lunch time workshop brought to us from Berkeley Lab's Employee Assistance Program (EAP). This workshop on "Why Our Thoughts Matter," is the first in a series of four 2022 workshops from the EAP team.
Reframe to Refresh: Why Our Thoughts Matter
The way we think about ourselves and the world around us greatly influences our self-esteem, emotional states, and behavioral responses. Over time, we may adopt automatic and unhelpful thought patterns that keep us feeling stuck. This workshop discusses the cognitive-emotional-behavioral connection, strategies to help identify unproductive thought patterns, and ways to reframe them for a more positive and refreshing outlook.
About the Speaker:
Kiran Johl (she/her/hers) is one of the Employee Assistance counselors for LBNL staff and postdocs. Kiran is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with experience working in both clinical settings and state government. She is skilled in crisis intervention and trauma-informed counseling for survivors of abuse. Kiran received her BS in Human Development from UC Davis, and her Master's of Social Work from Sacramento State University. She has a special interest in working with women of color, individuals identifying as first or second generation, and individuals experiencing life/career transitions.
What is the Employee Assistance Program? The Employee Assistance Program provides no cost confidential counseling and referral for Berkeley Lab employees. The program is available to employees, and their families and dependents. The services are completely voluntary and there is no fee for services.
UC Berkeley's Be Well at Work: Supporting Anxious Children: A Framework for Understanding and Managing Your Child's Anxiety
Thursday, February 24th | 12:10 - 1:30 pm | via Zoom
Childhood anxiety has been on the rise for decades, and the incidence of children diagnosed with an anxiety disorder doubled in the first year of the pandemic. Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the most frequently diagnosed anxiety disorder, is defined in the DSM-5 as excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not (for at least 6 months) about a number of events or activities. Other children experience anxiety that is specific rather than generalized, related to separation, social activities, or phobias. Anxiety can present in a multitude of ways. Symptomology can include mood changes such as increased irritability, distressing thinking patterns such as rumination, and somatic manifestations such as muscle tension and stomachaches.
This workshop is designed to teach parents how to help anxious children help themselves! We will discuss the neurobiological origins of anxiety and how to present this to children in a framework they can understand and resonate with. With this understanding, you and your child can work together to take charge of and manage their anxiety using a variety of skills targeting cognitive and somatic symptoms.
About the Speaker: Kate Ekman is a clinical psychologist specializing in assessment and treatment of children and adolescents through a cognitive-behavioral and family systems oriented lens. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Psychology in 2009. After three years in various roles including teaching abroad and counseling children on the inpatient psychiatric unit of Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., she came out west to begin graduate training in clinical psychology. Kate graduated from the Wright Institute in 2017 and completed her postdoctoral residency on the Kaiser Richmond Child & Family Team in 2018. Kate has been working as a staff psychologist at Morrissey-Compton Educational Center in Redwood City since 2018, where she provides comprehensive assessment and therapeutic services including individual therapy, skills-based group therapy, and executive functioning coaching.
Questions? Please contact:
Karen Patchell, MA
Work/Life Program Lead
kpatchell@berkeley.edu
Loneliness Webinar
Tuesday, December 14th, 12 - 1:00 pm
Prior to 2020, there was a quiet epidemic going on all around us which the pandemic has served to intensify: loneliness. This presentation takes a closer look at loneliness, its impact on health and wellbeing, and what we can do to de-stigmatize and alleviate it – for ourselves and others. Webinar was presented by Alison King, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with Managed Health Network (MHN)
Speed and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down - October 28, 2021
Be Well at Work Employee Assistance Featured Event with Author Stephanie Brown
Thursday, 10/28 | 12:10 - 1:30 pm | via Zoom
When does SPEED, working and living at a faster and more frenetic pace become a problem? even an addiction? You may feel that you cannot slow down, pause, or stop without feeling a sense of failure. You may struggle to turn off your screen, step away from your work and home demands, and choose your next activity with the intention of slowing down. How do we recognize and challenge our fear of slowing down - which has roots in American identity and values - while still experiencing a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment in our lives?
Join psychologist and author Stephanie Brown as she outlines how technology, innovation, and American ethos have fostered a culture where the drive towards never slowing down has contributed to an addictive and sometimes destructive pursuit of ostensible success.
Free 8 Session Smoking Cessation Program this Fall for Bay Area Residents
Are you ready to QUIT smoking? The City of Berkeley Public Health Can Help!
Register now for a FREE 8-session smoking cessation program (Those who complete the class will get a $25 gift card to either Safeway or Berkeley Bowl.)
Where: Through Video Conference (class login information given after registration is complete)
Who: ANYONE 18+ who is ready to quit smoking for good and lives in Berkeley or the Bay Area
When: Sept: 23, 30, Oct: 7, 14, 18, 21, 28 Nov: 4 (Evenings from 6-8pm) *Thursday classes except for 1 Monday on 10/18/2021
To REGISTER click on this intake form link or cut and paste the following web address into your internet search browser: https://www.surveyanalytics.com/t/AI0IRZOpe9
Flyer. For more information: Call: (510) 981-5330 or E-mail: QuitNow@cityofberkeley.info
Back to School, Parenting and the Pandemic Age - September 2, 2021
Presented by Alison King, LSCW, Health Net
A lot of us may be feeling ill-equipped as parents these days, as we try to manage our own stress and overwhelm while juggling personal and professional responsibilities, during a completely disorienting time. So…how do we bring our “A game” to parenting during this pandemic age? Do we even need to have an “A game,” or is a “ B game” okay? This presentation will cover a variety of topics…back to school anxiety, how to help our kids accept change and tolerate uncertainty, “good enough” parenting paradigm, and a bit about a really important parenting goal – especially now - supporting our kids in their social-emotional development.