About
Right Direction makes taking the first step easier
About Right Direction
Right Direction is a free initiative designed to provide employers with tools and actionable strategies to raise awareness about depression and to improve workplace mental health for a happier, more engaged, and productive workplace. The program features turnkey and customizable resources and materials to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking behaviors.
Our History
Right Direction started in 2013, through the collaboration of Employers Health, a nonprofit professional benefit organization, and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health. These organizations saw an opportunity to leverage their expertise to help employers address workplace mental health. Right Direction’s resources have been used by thousands of employers from diverse industries as a stand-alone program or as a supplement to existing health benefits. Right Direction can be used to strengthen key vendor relationships with health care providers, employee assistance programs, pharmacy benefit managers, and others. It can also be used with health and wellness initiatives to improve outcomes.
Our Team
Sean Godar, Ph.D., MBA
Vice President, Strategy and Analytics, Employers Health
Sean Godar works as the Vice President of Strategy and Analytics at Employers Health, a nonprofit professional benefits organization. At Employers Health, Dr. Godar works with team members to identify client pain points and uses data to create effective strategies and recommendations to optimize firm products and services portfolio, strengthen organizational value, and enhance client experience. Prior to Employers Health, Dr. Godar served as a Research Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Utah, where his research focused on the role of early-life stress on the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, resilience, and impulse control conditions. This research led to the publication of over 30 articles in high-impact peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Godar received his Doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Southern California and his Masters of Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Emma Jellen
Interim Director, Center for Workplace Mental Health, American Psychiatric Association Foundation
Emma Jellen is the Interim Director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association Foundation where she develops innovative, high-impact educational content, resources, and training for employers to support the mental health of their employees and their families. Emma collaborates and builds external relationships with corporate leaders, colleague organizations, and key stakeholders with the mission of creating mentally healthy workplaces. Ms. Jellen was previously the Program Manager for the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI) Support and Alignment Network (SAN) Grant awarded by CMS. Prior to joining the APA, Ms. Jellen served as the Director of Communications and Member Relations for the DC Hospital Association (DCHA), where she focused her efforts on hospital-wide population health and value-based purchasing initiatives and programming for DCHA’s 14 hospital members. To date, Ms. Jellen has worked for several healthcare non-profit associations, including the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Ms. Jellen found her passion for mental health policy working early in her career at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) as a Policy Associate in the department of Government Affairs and Clinical Practice.
Our Partners & Supporters
Right Direction is available for free through generous support from Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (TPUSA) and Lundbeck U.S., two companies that recognize the value of working with employers to promote organizational mental health and wellbeing.
Thank you for the support and assistance from our partners who contribute to the success of Right Direction:
