The Best Work You May Never See: TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, Frontline Workers Counseling Project Offer Help To Those Helping Others During The Pandemic

The Frontline Workers Counseling Project, spearheaded by co-founders Elizabeth Rawson, MD, and Michael Levin, PsyD, is a coalition of more than 450 licensed mental health professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area who have joined forces to offer free counseling for frontline workers throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The extreme demands of the pandemic leave frontline workers at high risk for acute distress in the near term and for development of post-traumatic symptoms in the long term. The lack of personal protective equipment has caused frontline workers to face daily risks to their and their loved ones’ health. 

TBWA\Chiat\Day LA created this film which captures the real emotions that are part of frontline workers’ day-to-day lives--ranging from anger to frustration to fear, powerlessness and anxiety. But also part of the equation is the help they can receive from The Frontline Workers Counseling Project to deal with these emotions.

“For those of us not working on the front line during this pandemic, it can be hard to imagine what that must feel like--to knowingly put yourself in harm’s way, day in and day out, whether by choice or by necessity,” said Jeff O’Keefe, associate creative director, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA. “When my close friend in San Francisco told me about a project he and some other therapists had just launched to give free mental health counseling to frontline workers, I asked how we could use our creative powers to help. We started with a new name and a logo, and just kept going from there.”  

The Frontline Workers Counseling Project offers sessions to the broader group of essential and frontline workers including healthcare workers, essential government employees, staff of homeless and domestic violence shelters, childcare providers, early educators, postal workers , delivery drivers, public transportation, maintenance workers, police, fire and emergency workers, and more. The Frontline Workers Counseling Project, in partnership with creative agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, has created a toolkit which includes flyers, outdoor signage, social posts, and email communications to quickly activate within organizations.