Christine Husbands is the commercial director of RedArc and she advises employers to make sure their mental health provisions are up to date.
The World Federation of Mental Health has set this year’s theme as ‘it is time to prioritize mental health at work’. RedArc believes there could be more done. While many UK employers offer some sort of mental health support to their employees, RedArc feels that it is not enough. Those who offer this support should regularly review it and those who don’t should take action to provide it. It is important that employers make sure that their staff receives the best possible support.
Christine Husbands says “Employers can feel overwhelmed by all the support options available for their organization and staff.” Some mental health support can be light-handed, which may mean that it is not adequate for certain employees. Employers must ensure that support is sufficient for all employees. This means it should be provided by mental healthcare professionals, easily accessible, meet the needs of those with complex requirements, and not be time-limited.
RedArc highlights the three main components of high-quality mental support:
- To maintain or improve mental health, prevention is a key component of mental health provisions for employers. All employees are at risk, so the support needs to be geared towards everyone, even those who may be hard to reach and don’t engage in employee benefits.
- It is important that employees know how to receive the best help at the appropriate time. They also need to be able access the support quickly. Mental health support must be tailored to each individual’s needs in order to be effective. A long waiting time or a prolonged triage process can cause deterioration in the employee’s health.
- Mental health specialists should provide employee mental health support. Mental health specialists have the knowledge, training and expertise to identify additional therapies and counselling that are needed, and monitor progress using mental health metrics.
Christine Husbands concluded that “If an employer selects a mental healthcare provider without doing enough due diligence, it may find the support not adequate for all of their staff.” Today is the perfect day to review your mental health plan and make any necessary changes so that you can rely on it for all of your employees.
The original version of this article, Mental Health Support Needs to be Delivered by Mental Health Specialists, appeared first on Human Resources News.
