20 Ideas to Help Celebrate Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day

May 12 is Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day.

This was a day that was founded in 2020 by myself, Anne C. Totero, in recognition to all mental health providers. Please see the page for more information here: Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day.

I wanted to give TEN ideas of how to celebrate Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day. If you are a client or know someone who provides mental health care, you can consider these 10 ideas to celebrate:

1. Sending a thank you card or message.

2. Share a story (voluntary, of, course!) about how the provider helped you as storytelling is so powerful.

3. Attending your appointments on-time! That seems so basic and small yet we as providers love seeing people feel better and follow through.

4. Promoting “Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day” on your social media with a post.

5. Promoting “Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day” on your social media with a video sharing your story about the provider.

6. Sharing resources regarding mental and behavioral Health in the month of May. This is Mental Health Awareness Month and one thing providers are passionate about is education and sharing information.

7. In your next session or interaction, share with your provider how they have helped you or a goal you have met.

8. Share with your friends and family how the provider or mental health treatment has helped you. This provides strength to communities and reduces stigma.

9. Use a skill today that a provider has taught you then share that with us, we love hearing about it!

10. The most important: Keep evolving, living, and healing. The greatest gift and thank you to a provider is when people live their lives. It is the greatest joy when people move from surviving, to living and when applicable, thriving.

I also wanted to provide TEN ideas of how to celebrate Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day if you ARE A PROVIDER. If you are a provider, manager, or fellow colleague in mental health care, you can consider these 10 ideas to celebrate:

1. Remember the reasons and list the reasons you are in this line of work.

2. Thank yourself in the mirror or write yourself a thank you letter for all you do for this field.

3. Thank a colleague by setting aside time for lunch or a break today.

4. Take a walk on one of your breaks or even after work to de-compress. Remember that you have a body!

5. A friendly reminder that Self-Care is not just getting a massage or short-term, it’s building in habits. Review and think of ways to improve your self-care as a habit in the next year.

6. Send a thank you card to someone in your team.

7. Do something nice for yourself on May 12th. Maybe something a little extra!

8. Breathe.

9. We are very good at going day to day without stopping and being present with how admirable and brave it is to be in this line of work. These are at-risk and underserved populations and YOU are making a difference.

10. If you aren’t or haven’t, remember to seek out your own support whether that’s with colleagues, friends, loved ones, our own providers. We cannot do this work alone or in a silo.

I have been in this field for almost two decades and a graduated therapist for 12 of those. If there is anything I learn as a therapist, professor to future Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs), or an advocate is this: my clients and colleagues are amazing. They deserve the month of May to celebrate their awareness, growth, and evolution. They deserve all the credit in the world for the incredibly hard work of slow healing. I am so proud and happy to work and evolve alongside all of you and it truly is: an honor.

Evolve and heal on, my friends.