Florida Tech Joins Multi-State Initiative to Provide Free Counseling to Food and Beverage Employees

Florida Tech is providing free telehealth therapy sessions to food and beverage workers through its Community Psychological Services as the university joins a growing national initiative to deliver no-cost mental health counseling to this generally underserved industry.

Behind You is a multi-state effort run by Houston-based non-profit Southern Smoke Foundation. They are helping food and beverage workers by reducing barriers to treatment, establishing support systems and creating industry-wide national dialogue about mental health.

Florida Tech’s pilot program kicked off Sept. 1. It will be carried out by advanced clinical psychology Psy.D. students and psychology professor and CPS director Scott Gustafson, Ph.D., ABPP.

Florida Tech is one of 14 schools across 12 states and Washington, D.C., participating, and is currently the only Florida university involved in the initiative.

Behind You operates through university graduate training programs in psychology, social work, clinical mental health and counseling. Clients are connected with clinicians-in-training for up to 20 no-cost sessions.

Gustafson is excited by the opportunity to help support this broad industry, which encompasses agriculturalists, distributors, restaurant, bar and coffee shop workers, food service personnel and more. These workers are one of the most under-insured demographics in the country, Gustafson noted, which means they often don’t have access to any kind of mental health coverage.

“The fact that we can offer high-quality services – as a catchment area of the entire state – for people who would otherwise go unserved, while training our students in both telehealth and advanced diagnostic and treatment protocols, is just a brilliant solution all the way around,” he said.  

In 2018, following the suicides of chef Anthony Bourdain and a rising chef within Southern Smoke Foundation’s own community, the foundation’s co-founders felt a deep urgency to act, said Catarina Bill, the foundation’s chief mission officer. They recognized a painful reality rarely addressed in their industry: Countless food and beverage workers were struggling, often silently, with stress, depression and anxiety.

At the annual Southern Smoke Festival that year, participating chefs discussed these challenges and the stigma surrounding mental health in their profession. By 2020, these conversations turned into action, Bill said.

With the help of Mental Health America Greater Houston, Southern Smoke Foundation partnered with the University of Houston to launch their no-cost counseling initiative for food and beverage workers in Texas. With COVID rocking the industry and upending livelihoods at the time, the need for accessible mental health resources became undeniable.

“This is an industry that has very low margin for error, but it’s also a ‘you’re fine’ industry,” said Bill, who was charged with implementing the new program. “If we can’t change that, then we need to provide support for people. We need to create tools so that they’re taking care of themselves without feeling like there’s a barrier to accessing care or a stigma to acknowledging that you need some help.”

To qualify for the program, applicants must be actively employed in the food and beverage industry, working at least 30 hours per week for a minimum of six months. Once an application is received, the foundation works with the university partner in the applicant’s state to set them up with a clinician. Not all clients will need all 20 sessions, but for those who may need more, the foundation and the client’s clinical team will explore options for continuing care.

Applicants do not need to be in crisis to seek help. Counseling can help with many things, including stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, low motivation, strained relationships, feeling overwhelmed, and feeling out of control of one’s emotions and thoughts.

“We always say ‘for the industry, by the industry,’” Bill said. “To every university that’s partnered with us – you are part of the change.”

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat online at 988Lifeline.org.