I’ve been reflecting recently on the importance of taking a truly integrated approach to workplace mental health and wellbeing.
One of the frameworks that has influenced my thinking over many years is the Integrated Approach to Workplace Mental Health developed by Anthony LaMontagne and colleagues (2014). The model highlights three complementary approaches to supporting workplace mental health: preventing harm, managing illness, and promoting flourishing.
What I particularly appreciate about this framework is that these domains are not independent of one another. At The Positivity Institute, we’ve increasingly come to view them as part of a dynamic and interconnected system. While promoting flourishing is often seen as the “positive” end of the continuum, it can also function as a preventative strategy. When organisations invest in psychological skills, strengths, resilience, meaningful work, positive leadership and supportive cultures, they are often simultaneously reducing psychosocial risk and helping prevent future mental health challenges.
At PI, our work sits primarily in the “promote flourishing” domain – supporting leaders, teams and organisations to build the psychological capabilities that underpin wellbeing, resilience, performance, growth i.e. thriving at work.
At the same time, workplaces also need pathways for confidential, individual support when people are experiencing more acute challenges. Over the past six months, we’ve been working alongside Clearhead as one of our collaborative and complementary partners, supporting organisations to implement a more integrated approach to workplace mental health.
What has impressed me is their more contemporary “EAP 2.0” approach. Rather than focusing solely on counselling once people reach a point of distress, Clearhead combines access to therapy with proactive digital wellbeing tools, personalised self-help resources, wellbeing insights for organisations, and a flexible model that enables individuals to choose the therapist that best meets their needs. This reflects a broader shift from reactive support towards earlier intervention, prevention and a more personalised employee experience.
For me, the real opportunity lies in helping organisations move beyond isolated wellbeing initiatives and towards a more integrated system that simultaneously prevents harm, supports recovery, and creates the conditions for people to thrive.
If you’d like to learn more about Clearhead’s approach, I’ve included a link below.
Yours in Positivity,
Dr Suzy Green.
Reference:
LaMontagne, A. D., Martin, A., Page, K. M., Reavley, N. J., Noblet, A. J., Milner, A. J., Keegel, T., & Smith, P. M. (2014). Workplace mental health: Developing an integrated intervention approach. BMC Psychiatry, 14, 131.
