Conceptual Framework of a Psychotherapeutic Consultation in the Workplace: A Qualitative Study

Determinants of the intention to seek psychotherapeutic consultation at work - a cross-sectional study in Germany

BACKGROUND

Psychotherapeutic consultation at work (PT-A) provides employees with mental illnesses or subclinical symptoms a short-term and low-threshold access to psychotherapeutic care. However, practical experience shows that the utilisation rate seems low compared to expected demand. Therefore, this study aimed to identify determinants of utilisation by exploring associations between sociodemographic characteristics, psychological well-being, stigma-related barriers and psychosocial safety climate and the intention to seek PT-A.

METHODS

Within a cross-sectional study, 658 participants were recruited via various social media channels in Germany. Participants answered an online questionnaire on potential determinants of (1) intention to seek PT-A in general and of intention to seek PT-A to specifically discuss (2) occupational burden and (3) private burden. Multiple ordinal regression analyses were conducted for the whole study sample and for the subgroups of participants screened positive and negative for current depression.

RESULTS

Lower stigma-related barriers were associated with higher general intention to seek PT-A among all study groups. Lower psychological well-being was associated with higher general intention to seek PT-A and with higher intention to seek PT-A to discuss occupational and private burden, but only so in the subgroup of employees who were screened negative for current depression. Treatment experience was associated with higher intention to seek PT-A for occupational burden among participants screened negative but not among participants screened positive for current depression. No associations were found between age, gender, education or psychosocial safety climate and any variable of intention to seek PT-A.

CONCLUSION

Those results give an overview on potential determinants for the intention to seek PT-A, but future research with longitudinal designs is needed to confirm that those factors also determine actual utilisation of PT-A. Based on the results, practical implications might include antistigma campaigns and promotion of PT-A adapted to the aims of the consultation.

Employees' preferences on organisational aspects of psychotherapeutic consultation at work by occupational area, company size, requirement levels and supervisor function - a cross-sectional study in Germany

BACKGROUND

Common mental disorders affect a significant proportion of the population worldwide at any given time. Psychotherapeutic consultation at work offers employees with mental distress short-term and low-threshold access to psychotherapeutic treatment. However, this offer is only accepted by one to two percent of the employees to whom it is offered. Taking into account employees ' preferences regarding organisational aspects might increase the use of psychotherapeutic consultation at work. This study therefore aimed to identify preferences on organisational aspects of psychotherapeutic consultation at work among employees of diverse occupational areas, company sizes, supervisor functions and job requirement levels.

METHODS

A total of 755 employees were recruited via advertisements on social media (Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn). Participants rated on a 5-point Likert scale their agreement to different implementation options of psychotherapeutic consultation at work: type (in-person/video/telephone), location (on/outside company premises), time (within/outside working hours), scope (diagnostic/diagnostic + treatment) and purpose (private/occupational). Additionally, the maximum accepted distance to the location of consultation was assessed. Various analyses of variances (ANOVA) were conducted to determine differences in agreement to implementation options within each organisational aspect and to analyse differences between occupational areas, company sizes, requirement levels and between employees with and without supervisor function.

RESULTS

Participants indicated a preference for in-person psychotherapeutic consultation that takes places outside company premises and outside working hours. Furthermore, they preferred offers including diagnostic and treatment sessions compared to offers including diagnostic sessions only. Even though participants agreed that consultation should be offered for all purposes, agreement for occupational issues was stronger than for private issues. For some implementation options, the level of agreement varied according to occupational field, company size, supervisor function and level of requirement. However, these differences did not affect the key findings mentioned above.

CONCLUSION

Those findings give practical indications on the organisational design of psychotherapeutic consultation at work. The results suggest that in-person consultation outside company premises and working hours combining diagnostic and treatment sessions will be accepted by employees regardless of their occupational area, company size, supervisor function and requirement level.