Among the many lasting impacts of COVID-19 is the pandemic’s toll on the nation’s mental health.
In its wake, referrals to mental health services have continued to escalate. According to official data from the British Medical Association (BMA), this figure reached 5 million in England in 2023 – up 33% on the figure recorded in 2019.
This was, however, the continuation of a pre-existing trend. Common mental disorders were already on a slow and steady upward trajectory prior to the pandemic, and Covid-19 should perhaps be seen as a catalyst, accelerating an existing problem.
As the scale of this issue has grown, it has been accompanied by a shift in attitudes. There has been a gradual erosion of the stigma surrounding mental health conversations, which has been helpful in encouraging those suffering to open up and seek out the support they need.
Prioritising mental wellbeing
Increasingly, that help is available via the workplace. Since the pandemic, almost three-quarters of companies (72%) have made supporting employee mental health and wellbeing a priority in acknowledgement of their responsibility in this area.
While this is undoubtedly a noble aim, it is also an objective that is broad in scope – there are a wide variety of approaches and mechanisms that companies can choose to make available to their staff. For many, this choice takes the form of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), and an estimated 21 million working people across the UK have on-demand access to this type of support framework.
When it comes to mental health, EAPs effectively provide a gateway to help, information and guidance for employees who are experiencing personal difficulties that might be affecting their ability to perform at work, or even to work at all. This might be down to feelings of stress and anxiety or it might be triggered by traumatic life events, such as bereavement.
EAPs differ in the range of services available and in how those services are provided, but typically, following assessment, employees will be passed on to a trained healthcare practitioner under a comparatively short timeframe (when compared with services available via the NHS).
They will then participate in a short-term programme of counselling, generally for a limited number of sessions. This might be provided online, over the phone or face-to-face. In 2022, EAPs in the UK provided more than 1.3 million counselling sessions on behalf of more than 400,000 workers.
Different counselling approaches
While ‘counselling’ can be used as a catch-all term, in reality there are a wide variety of talking therapies available – one estimate puts the figure at more than 500.
Most typically, counselling describes confidential discussions with a trained counsellor who will look to understand any personal issues at play and then uncover ways to help an individual deal with those difficulties. Under an EAP this might have a short-term focus, but counselling can also be beneficial on a longer-term basis, particularly if the underlying issues are complex and deep-rooted.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is another common form of talking therapy provided via EAPs. CBT is designed to help individuals manage their own mental state by making adjustments to the way they think and behave. Focusing on current problems rather than issues from the past, individuals work with a therapist to uncover practical approaches that can be applied in their daily lives.
CBT and other forms of counselling are generally underpinned by an emphasis on privacy and confidentiality, with sessions conducted away from the work environment in a reflection of the fact that mental health remains, for many, a highly personal and sensitive area.
Opening up at work
Some companies are flipping this dynamic and inviting employees to schedule sessions with an on-site therapist during the working day. In many cases, this is based on access to an external EAP service at an in-house location in the interests of convenience.
Just under a third (30%) of employers in the US said they either offered or were planning to offer on-site counselling or therapy in 2022, up from a quarter (25%) two years previously. This rise is perhaps further evidence of an easing of the stigma around employees seeking out professional mental health support.
While they might be physically delivered within the workplace, the fact that sessions are provided by trained therapists who are bound by professional ethical codes means that discretion and confidentiality are maintained.
Even so, approaches such as this will not necessarily find favour among all employers – or employees. As such, it is essential for companies to get a true understanding of the needs and preferences of their staff if they are to make sure that the mental health services provided – whatever shape they take – deliver employees with the counsel they need to thrive.
The information contained within this communication does not constitute financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. No warranty, whether express or implied is given in relation to such information. Vintage Health or any of its associated representatives shall not be liable for any technical, editorial, typographical or other errors or omissions within the content of this communication.
