Mental health: The real reason behind sickness absence and how you can help

During the election campaign we heard endless references to NHS elective surgery waiting lists as the reason that nearly a million Brits are out of the workforce. All parties seemed to conspire to ignore the elephant in the room, says Know Your Mind Consulting.

The majority of people out of work due to sickness are off with mental health difficulties (ONS, 2023). Our mental health services are unable to support the vast numbers of people who are struggling in our postpandemic world.

We need to change our approach to mental health, and Dr Rosie Gilderthorp, a Clinical Psychologist based in Tunbridge Wells, set up Know Your Mind Consulting to provide employers with the training, consultancy and services they need to ensure the mental wellbeing of their employees and enjoy the benefits of reduced sickness absence, increased productivity and the retention of talent this brings.

Dr Gilderthorp focuses on mental wellbeing during pregnancy and early parenthood as this is a time of vulnerability and when we are most likely to lose talented people from the workforce.

Having had her own experience of severe sickness during pregnancy, she recognised that services and workplaces were not set up well to support parents who are struggling.

Since specialising in this field, she recognised the potential to prevent mental health struggles becoming crises by providing input to workplaces, often through line manager training or direct work with key team members.

Know Your Mind offers training to improve understanding and confidence in talking about mental health, policy consultancy and individual therapy services to employees who are struggling.

Contact Rosie to find out how her team of specialist Clinical Psychologists could help your organisation.

See www.knowyourmindconsulting.com