Jean Holthaus remembers a moment not long ago when a woman logged onto a Pine Rest webinar, camera off, silent at first. By the end of the 30-minute session, the woman had unmuted to say thank you.
“She told us it was the first time she didn’t feel alone in what she was going through,” Holthaus says. “That’s when I knew these conversations matter.”
Holthaus, a licensed therapist and director of the Pine Rest Telehealth Clinic, is helping lead
Rewiring: Conversations to Boost Your Mental Wellness, a free, 10-part webinar series running June 9-12 and June 16-18. The initiative offers quick, accessible sessions on topics such as stress management, mindfulness, substance use recovery, and online safety for children.
“These webinars aren’t just information, they’re an invitation,” Holthaus says. “For someone who may be overwhelmed, unsure, or unable to access formal care, this is a place to start.”
The series was created to address growing gaps in mental health access, particularly for people facing financial or geographic barriers. By offering free, expert-led sessions online, Pine Rest aims to lower those barriers while empowering individuals with tools to care for themselves and others.
“People don’t need to wait until they’re in crisis to seek support,” Holthaus says. “We want to meet them where they are – on their lunch break, at home after work – with strategies that are doable and compassionate.”
All sessions are virtual, free, and open to the public. Times vary between noon and evening, and attendees can join any or all of the webinars based on interest and availability. To view the full schedule and join the live sessions, visit
pinerest.org/conversations.
Rapid Growth caught up with Holthaus for a Q&A about what inspired the series and what participants can expect from the first session.
Rapid Growth:
What inspired Pine Rest to launch the Rewiring webinar series, and how do you see it filling current gaps in mental health access?
Jean Holthaus: The Telehealth Clinic staff wanted to find a way to invest in the community and proactively provide people with practical steps they can take to improve their mental well-being. We wanted people to have an easily accessible way to invest in their mental well-being.
RG: The series covers a range of topics from burnout and mindfulness to online safety for kids. How did you select these topics, and what do you hope participants will take away from them?
JH: We selected topics we believed would be broadly applicable to people within the community and would appeal to a variety of individuals. By doing this, people can choose the topics that they feel would most benefit them, and hopefully there is something everyone can benefit from.
RG: You’ve emphasized that these sessions are designed to “meet people where they are.” What does that look like in practice, especially for individuals who may be new to seeking mental health support?
JH: We chose to provide this series online so that people could literally join from wherever they are at and could experience the ease of using technology to invest in their mental well-being. Additionally, we designed the content so that it is easily applicable to a broad range of individuals. Each of the topics will provide practical steps that individuals can integrate into their daily lives immediately.
RG: As someone leading this initiative, what trends or challenges are you seeing right now in mental wellness that make this kind of outreach especially timely?
JH: We chose to provide these conversations in June to build off the fact that May was Mental Health Awareness Month and to help people make investing in their mental well-being an ongoing activity. Research shows that people are more concerned than ever about their mental health and are looking for ways to improve their mental well-being, and we wanted to help meet this need.
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