Supporting Emotional Wellness During Holiday Seasons

Course overview

This learning activity equips nurses across all practice settings to recognize and respond to holiday-related emotional distress through practical, evidence-based interventions. Nurses will learn to conduct a two-minute emotional wellness screen that integrates seamlessly into routine assessments, deliver three brief therapeutic interventions requiring no specialized equipment (validation and normalization, grounding techniques, and behavioral activation), and appropriately triage patients to mental health resources based on acuity level. The content addresses the reality that behavioral health competency has become essential for all nurses due to workforce shortages and the documented increase in mental health crises during the holiday season, including elevated rates of depression, anxiety, substance use relapse, and suicidal ideation between November and January. By providing actionable skills that fit within nursing scope of practice and typical workflow constraints, this activity prepares nurses to serve as critical first-line responders for patients experiencing holiday-related psychological distress, transforming brief clinical encounters into opportunities for therapeutic intervention and appropriate referral.