Wellbeing Therapy Solutions are proud to introduce a service that can help to reduce absenteeism in the workplace caused by poor mental health.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the wellbeing of the nation has taken a real hit and, with more and more NHS services stretched to the limit, people with poor mental health are struggling to get help.
Myself, and the team at Wellbeing Therapy Solutions have developed a series of wellbeing services that can be delivered at any business, big or small, with the intention of creating an environment and culture which leads to positive mental health among a workforce.
It’s a pro-active solution which provides support for staff and breeds a drive towards a positive mental health culture in the workplace. It also arms people with the tools they need to spot a struggling friend or colleagues and intervene before they need time off work to recover.
Three packages
Services are designed to meet the individual needs of a business with three packages across gold, silver and bronze that provide services and solutions for various-sized workforces.
Delivered by experienced occupational therapists, our Workplace Wellbeing Packages provide a mixture of Zoom meetings, one-to-one therapy sessions, self-management workshops and mental health training.
Services are delivered either in a business’ place of work, online, or our fully-equipped training room at Wellbeing Therapy Solutions’ base in Leicestershire.
Many businesses have responded in a positive fashion since the Covid pandemic, to try and make sure they are doing everything they can to support the wellbeing and mental health of their workforce.
Positive wellbeing
If the business you work for is keen on supporting and upskilling its workforce to, not only create a positive wellbeing culture, but also reduce the days lost to mental health issues, Wellbeing Therapy Solutions’ Workplace Wellbeing Packages can make a big difference.
MD Kate Jackson said: “We have been able to use real-life experiences over the past three years to help create and develop these services, which I whole-heartedly believe can make a real difference at any business.
“We provide 12-month packages where a number of services can be purchased and planned to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of your team in a transparent and consistent manner.
“Businesses that have already tried our packages have reported back with some really positive feedback and it has been great to know that the real-world learnings we have made are being used to create a service that is making real differences to businesses and the people who work there.”
If you get a feeling in the pit of your stomach, around tea time on a Sunday, and start worrying about work on Monday, you are certainly not alone
Do you experience the ‘Sunday Scaries’?
That feeling in the pit of your stomach, around tea time on a Sunday, that the weekend is nearly over and it’s back to work when you wake up on Monday morning?
If so, you are not alone.
A new report has shown that work stress is the most common trigger for Britons who feel anxiety about the week ahead.
And 1 in 7 of us are now feeling those ‘Sunday Scaries’ according to a survey of more than 4,000 people, the findings of which were released just over a week after the World Health Organisation (WHO) released its first-ever set of guidelines on how to improve mental health in the workplace.
The statistics paint a worrying picture for managers and bosses who are faced with making the working environment one in which staff can not only spot the signs of colleagues when they are struggling with their mental health, but also provide support for those members of staff too.
“The well-being of the individual is reason enough to act, but poor mental health can also have a debilitating impact on a person’s performance and productivity,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who announced new guidelines to help prevent negative work situations and cultures and offer much-needed mental health protection and support for working people.
“The guidelines also suggest employers should make adjustments for workers with mental health conditions as well as offering support for those returning to work after mental health-related absences.”
Wellbeing Therapy Solutions MD Kate Jackson said that more and more companies were starting to be aware – and act upon – supporting their employees towards better wellbeing and mental health.
Mental health absences
“There are 72 million days a year lost to mental health absences in the UK economy and, on the back of Covid having such a big effect on all of our lives, more business owners are starting to realise the importance of doing everything they can to improve the wellbeing and mental health of their staff,” added Kate.
“Forward-thinking businesses are not only upskilling their staff and making them aware of the importance of positive mental health within the workplace, they are also keen on creating a positive wellbeing culture at work where people can be honest and open up to colleagues about any issues they are facing.”
Wellbeing Therapy Solutions have a number of workplace wellbeing packages they are offering to businesses and organisations.
Gold, silver and bronze packages are available where a number of services can be purchased and planned to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of a specific team in a consistent and transparent manner.
What an inspirational and diverse group of OTs we have at Wellbeing Therapy Solutions.
Wellbeing Therapy Solutions is four years old <corks pop>!
It’s been a very rewarding journey and I am very proud of what the team have achieved.
Guiding a fledgling business through a pandemic was a real challenge, not only because of what we faced from a health point of view but because of the swathe of mental health issues that arose from it.
We were desperate to help as many people as possible who emerged from the pandemic with poor mental health and I was so pleased that we could expand both the team and the premises we worked in.
Moving to Bodie’s House near Leicester has enabled us to offer some really high-quality services in a great setting for both our one-to-one clients, the businesses we work with and our team of occupational therapists (OTs).
Close-knit team
Having a larger and close-knit team means that we can offer a timely solution for people who want our help – something we were very keen to do throughout and following the pandemic.
We currently don’t have a waiting list and we ensure people who want our help are seen quickly. That’s really important to our business’ ethos and values and I will always strive to make sure our OTs and support packages are there for people, particularly when services such as the NHS are just so stretched and overworked.
As we have grown, we have been able to support local and national businesses too with a variety of mental health and wellbeing support packages for themselves and their staff. In fact, we have just launched a brand new bronze, silver and gold range of services which makes it easier for businesses and organisations to choose a range of support that is ideally suited to their needs.
We are really excited about where that could go in the coming months helping businesses overcome any number of challenges they are currently facing.
Fourth birthday
We celebrated our fourth birthday by coming together as a team and sharing some time… and food!
We believe that team is at the heart of everything we do. We are a genuinely supportive team and that comes across in the work that we do, the businesses we engage with and the work we do with them.
‘Getting up to run at 5am in a heatwave is not my idea of fun’
I have got to be honest with you, getting up at 5am to go running in the summer is not really my idea of fun.
I like to work hard…but I love a lie-in too.
As my alarm went off early in the morning on many occasions, I kept reminding myself that it was all for a good cause. A very good cause.
I first ran the Great North Run for the Bodie Hodges Foundation charity in 2019. Back then, they were a cause I strongly believed in. In 2022, I share a work building with them too.
My 2019 efforts represented my first ever half marathon and was one of the best experiences I have ever had in terms of the atmosphere. It was unique and very special and I was buzzing at the end of what was a very hard challenge.
Great North Run
I enjoyed it so much that I planned to do another one but then Covid hit and I got injured last year so it was really nice to be back on the streets a few weeks ago for the 2022 Great North Run.
The Bodie Hodges Foundation provide brilliant services for bereaved families so it felt good to be out there raising money for them, especially in these challenging times for charities. I know people personally who have found solace and support from the Bodie Hodges Foundation after finding themselves in the most challenging circumstances imaginable after the death of a child.
Me and the rest of the Wellbeing Therapy Solutions team love working side by side with their team. We all get on really well and we support each other so it fits perfectly.
The Great North Run presented the kind of personal challenge that I can get stuck into and thrive on. Setting myself regular challenges really helps my own physical and mental health. I am not great at doing things like that unless I have a specific goal and I was getting up early during the heatwave and running at 6am to get fit and to get miles in my legs.
It was way out of my comfort zone!
Sense of achievement
But doing the run gave me a real sense of achievement. It never seems to get any easier – but I felt really good afterwards.
This year’s run was a big challenge. It was hot and I struggled at half-way but found another gear and some more determination to get round and finish it. I also like to think that doing things like this is a good example to my daughter. You don’t have to be great at everything to give things a go and set your own goals, even if you are not going to finish first!
We also have friends in Northumberland – someone I lived with at university who I don’t get to see very often. The Great North Run gave me and my family the chance to spend the weekend with them and their family and those connections and actually seeing people face-to-face after the pandemic is beneficial for all of us.
I can’t thank my family and friends enough for their wonderful support both financially and emotionally throughout the race and the build-up to it.
Don’t ask me right now…but I might do it next year too!
Case management: Occupational therapist Marjolein Cleaver.
Our occupational therapists are now involved in offering a rare but important perspective on insurance case management
The psychological injuries people experience following accidents can last long after the physical ones are finally patched-up.
Wellbeing Therapy Solutions can offer a rare perspective on that recovery with occupational therapy support now available to add to traditional methods that have been used for years.
Case management services is something we have just started to offer and we are excited to begin working with some of the highest profile insurance case management companies.
Case management supports people who have experienced an accident, injury or other trauma and WTS will provide occupational therapy assessment and intervention for people who are experiencing psychological challenges arising from that event.
Mental health assessment
Our experienced therapists can offer a functional mental health assessment to look at how somebody’s mental health is impacting on their day-to-day life following that accident, life event or experience.
We do this in a kind, compassionate and sensitive way and can work all over the UK.
Our job is to meet the mental health needs of any client and to support them in improving their mental health and nurturing and protecting it moving forward.
We will also help them to overcome any barriers that are stopping them live their life in a way they want to do.
Case management
Because all of our WTS team are qualified to deal with individual case management services, we have immediate availability and have already started working with some leading companies.
We are looking forward to building relationships with more case management companies and will be offering a timely and personalised service that meets the needs of people who, perhaps otherwise, wouldn’t get the mental health support they need.
As a service, it’s quite unusual to offer occupational therapist services specifically for the mental health aspect of case management. It’s an emerging area of practice so we are really proud to be able to pick up those needs and support people in a way that maybe hasn’t been so readily available before.
Occupational Therapist Marjolein Cleaver has been working on one such case.
She explained: “I have working with a client, through case management, who has complex PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). They really felt that their roles in life both personally and professionally have been challenged after what happened to them.
Complex PTSD
“I have helped them look at their goals because they found it so painful to set new ones and were struggling to move forward. So, we gently explored goals first and then gently helped them work towards these goals.
“It’s about empowering the client to make decisions for themselves. It can feel very overwhelming for people with PTSD so we are trying to rebuild that lost confidence. We are trying to get out of the house, which is a big hurdle to overcome, going out and about in the local community and going to places they have not been for a while.
“They have also chosen a meaningful activity to focus on and that has been craft activities which will hopefully boost their mood.
“Wellbeing Therapy Solutions will then liaise back with the case management company and a few more things have been added in from the company because of the relationship I have built with them.
“We deal with the case in a hollistic way and don’t just focus on one thing. PTSD covers so many areas of our life which is not only related to mental health but also physical and motivational, as well as the ability to go places and do things.”
* Get in touch to find out more about Wellbeing Therapy Solutions case management offer.
