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Workplace counselling: everything you need to know

A detailed guide to the different types of workplace counselling on offer, how they work, and the benefits to your business

In this article
What is workplace counselling?Who is workplace counselling for?Benefits of workplace counsellingTypes of workplace counsellingWorkplace counselling formatsHow does workplace counselling work?Methods of workplace counsellingWorkplace counselling buyers guideWorkplace counselling FAQ's

Summary

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  • Workplace counselling is a confidential mental health support service service that organisations can pay for, to give their employees access to short-term therapy and other professional guidance.
  • 88% of UK businesses now have some form of workplace counselling service in place to support their employees. 
  • Workplace counselling can be used to support anyone within your company who's struggling with personal or work-related issues affecting their overall wellbeing and job performance.
  • There are three main types of workplace counselling services: external EAPs, in-house counselling, or specialist therapy solutions like Spill.
  • Workplace counselling benefits both your team and your business as a result of better performance, fewer sick days, higher retention, improved morale, and a stronger employer brand.

If you're considering mental health support for your team, read on for a detailed overview of how workplace counselling works and how to choose the right option for your team. Or if you're short on time, download our employer's guide to workplace counselling in full below 👇

An employer's guide to workplace counselling (free download)

Everything you need to know about the different types of workplace counselling on offer, how they work, and the benefits to your business

What is workplace counselling?

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Workplace counselling is a form of counselling or therapy that you offer your team, paid for by the company. By providing confidential mental health support, you can help employees deal with personal and professional issues that may be affecting their ability to focus at work. 

Recent global and national events like the COVID-19 pandemic have had a profound impact on employee mental health, making workplace counselling a growing priority for responsible employers.‍ 

88% of UK businesses now offer some form of workplace counselling service as part of their overall employee benefits package.

It’s tempting, as leaders, to take full responsibility for employees mental health - but this can actually be detrimental. Managers and peers are simply not qualified to take on this responsibility in most cases, and businesses ultimately have a limit for how much company time they’re able to spend supporting their people. Services like Spill exist to manage employee mental health on the company's behalf, with clear boundaries and complete confidentiality, meaning work stays about work.

Who is workplace counselling for?

Workplace counselling can be used to support anyone within your company who's struggling with personal or work-related issues affecting their overall wellbeing and job performance. That could include:

  • New joiners struggling with integrating, meeting new people, or experiencing imposter syndrome
  • Existing employees struggling with issues like burnout, anxiety or low motivation
  • Managers and team leaders dealing with internal conflicts or performance issues
  • Senior management struggling with work-life balance, stress or difficulty sleeping
  • Leavers dealing with grief, low self-confidence or concerned about financial pressures
  • Remote employees navigating feelings of loneliness and struggling to connect or communicate effectively from a distance
  • Employees exposed to traumatic material through the nature of their job, such as call handlers dealing with emotional situations
  • Anyone going through a life changing event like having a baby, going through a divorce, experiencing a bereavement or approaching retirement

Workplace counselling is not just a lifeline for employees in crisis, but also a proactive resource for anyone needing support, guidance, professional advice or a safe space to be heard.

The benefits of workplace counselling

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Workplace counselling benefits both your team and your business as a result of better performance, fewer sick days, higher retention, improved morale, and a stronger employer brand.

The benefits of workplace counselling for employers fall into two categories:

Usage benefits.

These are the direct benefits to the company as a result of employees attending workplace counselling sessions and feeling happier, healthier and more productive at work. 

Signalling benefits.

These are the broader benefits the company accrues from providing mental health support as an employee benefit, in terms of how it makes existing staff and job candidates feel about the company.

Let’s go through each in turn, and calculate the financial impact for your business. 

Usage benefits (resulting from employees attending workplace counselling)

1. Increase employee productivity and performance at work

The latest figures show that one in four UK adults experiences a diagnosable mental health problem in any given year. When someone’s mental health is flagging they’re simply not able to do their best work, experiencing lower levels of energy and motivation. In business terms, this means a significant reduction in productivity. Research by Oxford University found that unhappy workers are 13% less productive on average.

Workplace counselling helps employees find ways to cope with the challenges they’re experiencing and develop self-care strategies, leading them to feel happerier, more resilient, and engaged with daily tasks.

Let’s do the maths for a team of 20👇

Total number of employees = 20

Number of employees struggling = 5 (25% of team)

Productivity increase per employee due to workplace counselling = 13%

Total hours gained in productivity due to workplace counselling = + 18 hours per week (36 hours x 13% x 4)

2. Reduce the number of sick days taken 

The leading cause of work days lost due to ill health in 2023/24 was stress, depression or anxiety, accounting for 49% of all sick days taken. Recent research suggests that one in five workers has taken time off work due to poor mental health, with the average employee out of work for 21 days

When mental health challenges go unaddressed, employees are far more likely to take time off, stay away longer, and face difficulty returning to work. However, workplace counselling interventions have been proven to reduce sickness absence rates by up to 50%, giving employees the tools to actively address and improve their mental health before they reach the point of crisis and have to take time off. This can lead to huge cost savings for employers in terms of both sick pay and reduced output.

Let’s do the maths for our team of 20:

Total number of employees = 20

Employees taking time off for poor mental health = 4 (one in five))

Average number of days off per employee = 21

Additional days worked due to workplace counselling = 84 (4 x 21 days)

3. Keep your star players

Three in ten UK employees leave to join another organisation each year, with 61% of leavers  citing poor mental health as a leading factor. For an employee in emotional pain, work is often a major contributor and as a result, the first casualty. This comes at a huge cost to employers, with a recent study estimating the cost of rehiring and training to be at least 20% of annual salary for employees in midrange positions.

Workplace counselling helps employers to retain (and protect) valuable talent by providing a safe space for employees to navigate challenging moments, develop coping strategies and build emotional resilience. This can lead to an 80% reduction in employee turnover for companies that provide high-quality resources to care for their team’s mental health.

Let’s do the maths for our team of 20:

Total number of employees = 20

Expected leavers per year = 6 (3 in 10 employees)

Employees retained due to workplace counselling = 4 (61% of all leavers)

Signalling benefits (to all current and potential employees)

1. Attract the best new talent 

Providing effective employee mental health support is a major competitive advantage when it comes to attracting new talent, with 86% of employers seeing mental health benefits as “crucial for recruitment” in today’s job market.

When looking for a new job, 1 in 3 workers now prioritise companies that offer mental health support. This trend is even more pronounced for younger employers, with nearly eight in ten workers aged 18-34 saying it’s important that their employer provides mental health support, and two-thirds (64%) recognising it as their most valuable employee benefit.

Having mental health benefits clearly displayed on your careers page and job listings signals to potential employees that you’re a responsible employer, and can have a big impact when it comes to attracting and retaining talent.

2. Strengthen and grow your brand 

Research consistently shows that when employees feel their work is meaningful and they are valued and supported, they are more committed to the company’s goals and their performance improves. This relationship between staff wellbeing and business performance is often called ‘employee engagement’.

By offering workplace counselling, you’re sending a very clear message to your team: you value them, you care for them, and you want to support them. This leads to higher job satisfaction and increased engagement in their work, with 52% of employees feeling more engaged and productive when their organisation offers mental health support.

And a more engaged workforce means higher profitability, a clear signal of strength to investors, partners and board members. FTSE 100 companies that prioritise employee engagement and wellbeing are proven to outperform the rest of the FTSE 100 by 10%, and the positive correlation with company valuations, profits and even stock performance are well established.

If you're considering workplace counselling as a means of support for your business, it's important to crunch the numbers and understand if a solution like Spill really represents good value for money. Our business case for workplace counselling looks at how many people in your team are likely to be struggling, and why investing in mental health support makes sense for your business financially (as well as morally)👇

The business case for workplace counselling (free download)

How to make the financial case to invest in employee mental health support.

Types of workplace counselling

Every company will feel the benefits of counselling in the workplace, but the type of service that’s right for your company will depend on the size, budget, and needs of the business — and your employees.

Generally, there are three types of workplace counselling services to choose from:

1. Hire a private counsellor

Offering a ‘DIY’ approach to employee counselling, some companies employ or contract a private workplace counsellor to support struggling employees in-person via regular drop-in clinics or scheduled appointments.

Pros
You can choose a specialist who understands your company culture and the intricacies of the business
Makes mental health support more visible (physically in the office), helping reduce stigma
Offers a more personal approach and seems less “clinical”

Cons
Support is usually only available during work hours
Employees can’t choose a counsellor that fits their specific situation
Confidentiality is restricted when employees have to request sessions from HR or drop in to a room in the office, which can deter people from getting support

best for
Larger HR teams who are looking for a more personal approach, and have time to organise the logistics and therapist relationship themselves.

2. Outsource support to an EAP

Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are the ‘original’ form of workplace counselling, providing employees with access to short-term counselling and other professional guidance via a hotline. Employees can call the hotline to speak with an advisor, who assesses their level of ‘need’ before either directing them to self-help resources or referring them on to speak to a counsellor.

Pros
Typically the cheapest workplace counselling option, with prices starting from £1 per employee per month
Employees can get support for a wide range of issues including mental health, financial stress, legal concerns and career coaching
Help is available 24/7 via the hotline

Cons
EAP usage rates are typically very low, averaging just 3-5% of employees (and because they charge a set price per employee, per month, it’s not in their interests to boost this number)
Most employees will be directed to self-help resources and it can be a long and frustrating process trying to speak to an actual counsellor
Most EAPs have a minimum contract length of 3-5 years
EAPs usually only provide short-term support and have a limit on the number of counselling sessions available to each employee
Recent scandals around EAP confidentiality have caused a lack of trust in the service

best for
Big companies with limited budgets who are looking to provide a basic "no frills" support helpline for employees, plus lots of self-help wellbeing content.

3. Outsource support to a specialist workplace counselling solution (like Spill)

Another external option, specialist therapy solutions like Spill sit in the category of “modern EAPs”. They provide the same core offering (access to workplace counselling services) but with a few new features intended to overcome the challenges outlined above. The main difference here is that employees can book counselling sessions on-demand themselves using an online booking system, rather than calling a helpline and having to be referred on for further support.

Pros
Super easy for employees to access therapy in a few clicks (no callbacks or waiting lists)
100% private and confidential, meaning much higher usage (Spill’s usage averages 30% of employees)
Employees can choose their ideal therapist by gender, ethnic background, or specialism
Pay-as-you-go pricing available, and no annual contracts

Cons
Focus specifically on providing mental health support for employees, and don’t offer financial or legal support
Don’t offer broader wellness support e.g. meditation or mindfulness
More expensive than EAPs on a per employee basis (but often works out as better value for money based on the number of therapy sessions actually used)

best for
Progressive companies who are willing to spend a little bit more to connect struggling employees with high-quality counsellors in a few clicks. A great option for smaller teams where HR resource is limited to manage this internally, and an employee taking time off for poor mental health would have a big knock-on impact for the rest of the team.

Workplace counselling formats

Workplace counselling can be delivered in several different formats depending on the needs of the individual and the set up of the provider:

Face-to-face counselling:

This is the traditional format for therapy sessions, whereby employees can speak with a qualified professional in a private room or clinic. This does often provide a more personal experience, but comes with much less flexibility in terms of scheduling around other life/work priorities (and the added cost and logistics of travel).

Telephone counselling:

A telephone hotline is the default format for counselling from most EAPs, whereby employees can receive some level of support or guidance over the phone. While this option does provide more flexibility for employees without having to travel to a physical appointment, user reviews often reference long waiting times, and a recent BBC investigation into a popular EAP provider criticised the quality of care and level of confidentiality offered by phoneline.

Online video counselling:

Virtual therapy sessions delivered via video platforms like Zoom or Skype became increasingly popular during the pandemic, and have remained a preferred format for employees due to the level of accessibility and convenience they offer. A recent study found that video based therapy had higher completion rates, attendance rates, and number of treatment visits than in-person treatment.

Message based counselling:

Some workplace counselling services now offer professional support and guidance via real-time chat or asynchronous messages. This offers employees a great way to get support from a therapist without committing to a session, and is particularly useful for help with day-to-day challenges such as difficulty sleeping. However, it's worth checking who is on the other end of these messaging services. Many companies now offer AI chatbots as part of their counselling service, which brings forward new concerns around quality control and safeguarding for employees.

An employer's guide to workplace counselling (free download)

Everything you need to know about the different types of workplace counselling on offer, how they work, and the benefits to your business

How does workplace counselling work?

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There are typically five steps involved in accessing workplace counselling, which starts at the point someone realises they need support and ends when they finish their block of counselling sessions. The exact details of each step will vary depending on your workplace counselling provider.

No matter what type of counselling in the workplace you go for, providers all have the same goal: to help employees safely navigate personal and work related challenges. While each type of counselling for employees will look a little different, the way they work typically follows the same five steps.

1. Someone in your company realises they need support

With 1 in 4 people experiencing a mental health problem of some kind each year, it’s only a matter of time until someone in your team is in need of support.  The journey to this realisation will look different for everyone — it could be a self-referral, a recommendation from friends and family, or a manager referral — but most workplace counselling services rely on the employee acknowledging they need help and making the first move towards initiating support. 

Sadly this means many people don’t get help until they’re at the point of crisis and need time off work in order to fully recover. At Spill, We believe that effective mental health support means having a system in place to spot the signs of poor mental health at an early stage, and taking proactive steps to present available support to employees when they need it most.

2. Your employee contacts the workplace counselling service

For most employee counselling providers, your employee will need to get in touch by phone, email, or submit an online form to take the first step towards getting support. For many people, this can be a big moment, so it's important they feel able to do this easily and privately. This means employees can access support anonymously (rather than requesting details from HR) and quickly, with no phone numbers or log in details to remember.

3. Your employee’s mental health needs are assessed

In the case of most EAPs, employees will initially be put through a triage call with a case manager (typically a non-clinician) who will assess their suitability for workplace counselling. If they pass the suitability assessment, they will then be referred on for support and wait for a call back from the next available counsellor.

When working with a private therapist or a specialist workplace counselling service like Spill, booking a session usually just involves a few questions on how the employee is feeling and anything they are struggling with to give the therapist a bit more context and align on any goals or expectations ahead of time. 

When employees come to Spill for support we don’t ever ask for a doctors note to check for eligibility or run a pre-screening to filter our people who are “too severe”. Our service is set up to support anyone who’s struggling with their mental health.

4. Your employee attends a workplace counselling session

If you were to receive any form of talk therapy through the NHS, your health insurance, a charity, or an EAP, you would likely only be given one format: a course of therapy. A course of workplace therapy is typically 6-12 sessions long. You speak with the same person in each session and you will meet once a week for the duration. This format has been around since the invention of talk therapy in the early 19th century by Freud and to this day remains the most effective way to support somebody who is really struggling with their mental health.

5. Your employee finishes counselling and, if they were off, returns to work

Workplace counselling can be beneficial at any time: some people will book sessions as a preventative measure, while others may be off work and use counselling as part of their recovery. When workplace counselling sessions finish, your employee may feel ready to come back to work, need ongoing support, or spend time putting their learnings into practice. 

The methods of workplace counselling

Of course, there’s more to employee counselling than just the provider — there are different approaches and techniques within counselling, too (often referred to as specialisms). 

‍The exact style of therapy your team can receive depends on the therapists and specialities within your workplace counselling service. At Spill, our team of therapists can cover over 50 different specialisms, making it an accessible source of support for a diverse range of people and experiences. 

The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy has a neat A-Z of the types of therapy, but for now, here are five of the most common methods of workplace counselling.

1. Solution-focused

A very common approach in workplace counselling, and particularly with EAPs, solution-focused employee therapy tends to be more of a short-term experience. Often, just three or four sessions are needed, during which the therapist will work with an individual on a current problem rather than dwell on the past. It creates a space to set goals and work out how to achieve them, offering up practical ways to help someone feel better.

2. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

A common approach for a range of mental health challenges and perhaps the most well-known workplace counselling method, CBT focuses on how someone’s thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes affect their feelings and actions. During a CBT session, the therapist will help identify and challenge negative thought patterns, and the resulting behaviour. CBT is a common treatment for a number of mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, stress, sleep problems, and many more.‍

3. Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)

A bit of a mouthful and a somewhat intimidating one at that, EMDR is another method of workplace counselling, developed as a therapy for treating trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using side-to-side eye movements and talk therapy, EMDR can help someone process negative images, emotions, beliefs, and body sensations associated with a traumatic memory. It’s a specialist technique that helps the brain process unresolved memories and make them less distressing. 

4. Psychodynamic

Developed from psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy helps an individual understand how their past experiences and unconscious thoughts shape their current feelings and behaviour. It’s a technique that aims to find the root of the problem and can be used to help with many different problems, like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and addiction. 

5. Person-centred

A humanistic approach, person-centred workplace counselling is led by the individual rather than the therapist. It’s a dynamic that can help someone realise what resources and support they have available, build self-confidence, and grow into their true self. In return, the therapist will offer acceptance, honesty, and transparency in a judgement-free space, which allows someone to freely explore their own feelings, beliefs, and behaviours to become more self-aware.

An employer's guide to workplace counselling (free download)

Everything you need to know about the different types of workplace counselling on offer, how they work, and the benefits to your business

Workplace counselling buyers guide

When comparing workplace counselling providers, it’s important to look beyond just the cost or number of sessions provided. You want to make sure the service actually fits your team’s culture, working style, and support needs – and that it delivers meaningful outcomes.

Here’s a full checklist of what to look for and questions to ask when buying a workplace counselling service for your team:

Accessibility of counselling

  • Can employees book a counselling session themselves online, or do they have to call a hotline to ask for a referral? 
  • How soon are therapy sessions available?
  • Is the service available 24/7 or limited to business hours?
  • Do they offer in-person, phone, video, or message-based counselling?
  • Can employees self-refer, or does it go through HR?

Geographic and language coverage

  • Is the service UK-only, or does it also support international teams?
  • Are therapy sessions available in multiple languages and timezones?
  • Can employees choose to speak to a therapist with a similar ethnic background?

Counsellor qualifications and training

  • Are all workplace counsellors registered with a relevant professional body like the BACP or NCS?
  • How many hours of clinical experience are counsellors required to have before joining?
  • What does the counsellor hiring process look like? What percentage of applicants are accepted?
  • Can you choose a therapist who specialises in a certain topic (e.g. grief or ADHD?)
  • Can you keep the same therapist for further sessions?

Data and reporting

  • What usage data is shared with HR? Is this across all employees, broken down by team etc?
  • Do they share (anonymised) feedback from employees using the service?
  • Is the service completely private and confidential for employees?

Pricing and Flexibility

  • Is the pricing model per employee (regardless of usage) or per counselling session used?
  • Can you trial the service before you buy?
  • Is the pricing flexible as you increase or decrease the size of your team?
  • How long is the contract? Are there any exit fees for cancelling early if the service isn't delivering as expected? 

Workplace counselling FAQ's

Q: Do employers have to give staff time off work for counselling?

In the UK, employers are not legally obligated to give employees (paid or unpaid) time off work specifically for counselling sessions. However employers must treat mental health conditions with the same seriousness as physical illnesses or injury and make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities, which may include time off for treatment or counselling.

Even if it's not legally required, many employers have mental health policies that offer flexibility around health-related leave or specific provisions for counselling. At Spill, we believe employers have a responsibility to tackle stigma and make mental health more visible within the company - and that includes allowing employees to attend therapy sessions during work hours. The priority here should be helping the individual to feel better as soon as possible, but this approach also benefits the company because happy employees are more focussed and productive while at work.

Q: What qualifications are required to become a workplace counsellor? 

To become a workplace counsellor in the UK, there’s no single legally mandated qualification, and the quality bar for hiring therapists varies according to the provider. Before working with a new counsellor or EAP it's important to ask this question, and have a look online for any reviews from users or employees which reference the quality of counselling they recieved (you can usually find this on Trustpilot).

Typically counsellors are required to have a diploma in therapeutic counselling, or an equivalent qualification, registration with a professional body like the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and at least 100 hours of clinical practice.

An employer's guide to workplace counselling (free download)

Everything you need to know about the different types of workplace counselling on offer, how they work, and the benefits to your business

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