Centre for Mental Health

Sainsbury Centre launches Impact on Depression workplace training programme in the UK

19 May 2010

Workplaces across the UK can now benefit from high-quality training to help them to manage mental health issues at work.

From this week, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health is offering Impact on Depression, the workplace mental health programme, to employers across Britain. Based on Australia's highly-successful beyondblue National Workplace Programme, Impact on Depression raises awareness of anxiety and depression at work. The programme helps managers and employees to respond positively to a colleague in distress and to support the person to get appropriate help.

Impact on Depression training lasts for up to half a day and is delivered by accredited mental health professionals. Training is available for all staff in an organisation or specifically for line managers, executive boards, HR and occupational health professionals.

Sainsbury Centre director of programmes Helen Lockett said: "At any one time, one worker in six in Britain will have a mental health problem, usually depression or anxiety. While most mental health problems are not caused by work, the response of managers, colleagues and organisations can make a huge difference to how quickly people recover and how much time, if any, they have to take off sick.

"It is in everyone's interest that workplaces know how to respond to someone experiencing mental health problems. No workplace in Britain can be free of mental illness all the time, so every manager should be equipped to respond well when the need arises. Impact on Depression provides workers and managers with the tools they need to respond confidently, appropriately and effectively to mental health problems at work.

"We are delighted to partner with beyondblue to bring its proven workplace programme to the UK. So far, we have tested the programme with some 750 people in the UK from employers including Royal Mail Group, Kent County Council, the submarines business of Rolls Royce and Tate & Lyle Sugars. Evaluations of the training have all been very positive and we are confident that it makes a difference."

Ms Leonie Young, CEO of Australia's national depression initiative, beyondblue, said: "I'm delighted to be sharing our program, skills and knowledge with the Sainsbury Centre. We know this program works in Australia and we are very pleased that the evaluation of the Sainsbury Centre pilot programme has confirmed that it is one of the best of its type in the world."

Centre for Mental Health Workplace Training is based on the beyondblue National Workplace Programme (Australia) and Beyond Blue Limited retains copyright in all materials.