MENTAL HEALTH IN WORK PLACE

1. Dr. Pamela Kaithuru
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY,
ADDICTION COUNSELING AND TREATMENT
ISSUP (K) and ICAP1 Certified
Accredited International Society of Substance Use, Preventionand Treatment
professional
MENTAL ILLNESSES: DIAGNOSIS &
MANAGEMENT FOR INDIVIDUAL
AND ORGANISATIONAL
PRODUCTIVITY IN REALIZATION OF
UHC

2. OBJECTIVES
• To create awareness on
employees wellness: mental
health, Covid-19 and HIV
interventions
• Empower staff to influence
the Workplace for
achievement of HIV Prevention
and Universal Health Coverage

3. OUTLINE
•Identify causes of mental disorders
•Explain how mental disorders are recognized
•Discuss management of mental disorders

4. Mental health includes our
emotional, psychological,
and social well-being. It
affects how we think, feel,
and act. It also helps
determine how we handle
stress, relate to others, and
make choices.Mental health
is important at every stage of
life, from childhood and
adolescence through
adulthood.
Mental illness,
also called
mental health
disorders, refers
to a wide range
of mental health
conditions —
disorders that
affect your
mood, thinking
and behavior.

5. INTRODUCTION
• Research informs that there are likely combinations of causes –
biological, psycho-social, socio-cultural and environmental
• Global reports indicate that approx. 450 million people suffer from
mental disorders
• 1 in every 4 Kenyans has a mental disorder
• Kenya was place 4th in Africa and 9th globally
• 1.9 million in Kenya suffer depression
• Management is a challenge due to few facilities providing mental
health treatment and few professionals

6. • ILO promotes increased investment in human resource
development, particularly the human resource needs of
vulnerable groups, including persons with mental health
problems
• Employees’ mental health problems and their impact on an
enterprise’s productivity and disability/medical costs are
critical human resource issues
• Increasingly, employers’ organizations, trade unions and
government policy-makers are realizing that the social and
economic costs of mental health problems in the workplace
cannot be ignored

7. • World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes mental health
as a top priority because of the extent and pervasiveness
of mental health problems
• Five of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide are
mental problems (major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar
disorders, alcohol use and obsessive-compulsive disorders).
• These disorders – together with anxiety, depression and
stress – have a definitive impact on any working population
and should be addressed within that context

8. • Universal Health Coverage means that all individuals and communities
receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship
• It includes the full spectrum of essential, quality health services, from
health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative
care across the life course.
• SDG

9. 3

10. MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN THE WORKPLACE
• The impact of mental health problems in the workplace has serious
consequencesnot only for the individualbut also for the productivity of
the enterprise.
• Employeeperformance, rates of illness,absenteeism,accidents and
staffturnover are all affectedby employees’mental health status.I
• Risks to mentalhealth include:
• inadequatehealth and safety policies;
• poor communicationand management practices;
• limited participationin decision-makingor low control over one's area
of work;
• low levelsof support for employees;
• inflexibleworking hours; and
• unclear tasks or organizational objectives.

14. RECOGNISING MENTAL DISORDERS
•Mental Health experts see abnormal thoughts, feelings
or behaviours as signs or symptoms of mental health
disorders
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) covers all
categories of mental health disorders for both adults and
children
•Has five DSM "axes" or dimensions to ensure that all
factors—psychological, biological, and environmental—
were considered when making a mental health diagnosis.

17. CORONAVIRUSAND HUMAN-IMMUNE
DEFICIENCY VIRUS
• There is rising concern about the mental health challenges of the general
population, COVID-19 infected patients and affected, close contacts, elderly,
children and health professionals as well as the PLHIV
• The COVID-19 pandemic has likely brought many changes to how you live your
life, and with it uncertainty
• Altered daily routines, financial pressures and social isolation
• You may worry about getting sick, how long the pandemic will last and what
the future will bring
• Information overload, rumors and misinformation can make your life feel out
of control and make it unclear what to do
• Great gains have been made in management of HIV
• HIV is still a challenge and the related stigma impacts on interventions

19. HOW TO LOOKAFTER YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
• Talk about your feelings. Talking about your feelings can
help you stay in good mental health and deal with times
when you feel troubled
• Keep active
• Eat well
• Drink sensibly
• Keep in touch
• Ask for help
• Take a break
• Do something you're good at

20. CONCLUSION
• The impact of mental health problems in the workplace has serious
consequences not only for the individual but also for the productivity of the
enterprise
• It imposes a heavy burden in terms of human suffering, social exclusion,
stigmatization of the mentally ill and their families and economic costs
• All of us have the right to decent and productive work in conditions of
freedom, equity, security and human dignity
• For persons with mental health problems, achieving this right is particularly
challenging
• Strategy for overall health promotion : health education to raise awareness of
factors affecting health and well-being; screening programmes to detect risk
factors or early signs of disease; and action programmes to do something
about them