CVS Health's Brooke Wilson is helping redefine mental health

When it comes to employees' overall well-being, Brooke Wilson believes there is no struggle too small for support. As head of CVS Health's personalized mental wellness product Resources for Living, Wilson has prioritized providing coaching for everyday challenges as well as accessible, preventative care to its 30 million members.

"Everybody gets stuck, and it can impact people's performance at work as well as their ability to be engaged in their personal lives," says Wilson. "We're here when people just might need a little more support to help you live your best life for yourself and your family members."

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A dedicated cyclist, Wilson uses exercise to decompress and maintain her own well-being, and is driven to find solutions for any employee to find the best way to deal with their day-to-day stressors. To give members a more personalized experience, Wilson and her team expanded the Resources for Living program over the last calendar year with the Care Partner Model, a trained counselor who provides a single point of contact and helps guide members through their mental health journey and provides ongoing emotional support. 

"It's a partner or an advocate to an individual who is at the start of what might seem like a difficult-to-navigate mental well-being journey," says Wilson. "Our team is trained to ask the right questions so that we're able to develop a care plan along with that individual, taking into account what their goals are."

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After observing the negative effects of the COVID pandemic on certain groups such as young adults, women and caregivers, Wilson and her team also launched Here4U, an online peer support program led by Resources for Living clinicians that caters to vulnerable populations within the workplace. Since becoming available in 2022 after a successful pilot program, Here4U has provided a safe space for groups who don't always feel like they belong, which is an issue all employers should be mindful of within their workforce, Wilson says. To have the greatest impact, ensuring both of these benefits were made available and affordable to all members was critical to Wilson's goal for equity.

"We're not one size fits all — we're constantly looking at what people need now," says Wilson. "We can impact more people and get to some of these specific needs that people have based on their life experiences."

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For CVS customers and employees, Wilson says addressing things like caregiving stress and social isolation have redefined how they think about mental health challenges. In her role at Resources for Living, Wilson and her team challenge employers to continue evolving beyond what's expected around mental health support and benefits. 

"If the majority of people are talking about mental well-being, I don't think that means the majority of people are saying 'I need therapy,'" Wilson says. "We're going to have to evolve a little bit, and employers of the future are creating a different sort of social contract with their employees. There are still basic needs around things like stability and loyalty, but it's more about what employees can expect: How does an employer offer this spectrum of support services that come together in a package and meet the needs of their populations?"