Companion Patient Education Tools

Two tools you can review and recommend to promote emotional wellness are "A Woman's Guide to Emotional Wellness" and "A Young Woman's Guide to Emotional Wellness." These documents are comprehensive, evidence-based resources about emotional wellness and can be downloaded for free at www.hrsa.gov/womenshealth. These guides help women of all ages improve their emotional wellness. Each guide provides tips and ideas around basic wellness themes:

• Appreciating Oneself: Provides ideas on building self-respect; building self-confidence; building self-esteem; setting expectations; taking care of yourself; thinking positively; making time for activities you enjoy; and learning skills to cope with difficult emotions and situations.
• Finding Balance and Purpose: Provides ideas on learning about yourself; developing a purpose statement; setting goals; being able to change; learning how to deal positively with stress; increasing confidence; and nurturing the spirit.
• Connecting with Others: Provides tips about finding a connection; identifying with racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds; learning about healthy relationships; learning about empathy and its importance in relationships; learning how to be more mindful of other people; developing patience; connecting with children; being safe in relationships, and helping others in need.

When appropriate, encourage your patients to find suggestions in the guides to adopt before their next visit. At their next visit, discuss what changes they have made to enhance their emotional wellness. You might also consider keeping copies of these guides in your waiting room or exam rooms as reading material, and let women know where they can obtain their own free copy.

To help you promote these materials and to introduce the concept of emotional wellness, a free one-page flyer can be downloaded at www.hrsa.gov/womenshealth [PDF file - 70 KB]. You can give the flyer to your female patients to encourage them to obtain these guides or display it as an additional conversation starter.

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