What do men say about BALM?

“It wasn’t like counselling, it didn’t look like a ‘sit and talk to a counsellor and someone will fix all your problems for you’. It was more the fact that it was a tool that, even when the programme was finished, it was something that if it worked for me, I had nothing to lose, I might as well give it a go and see if it’s something that will help me and work.” (Hospital Clinician)

“It’s really relaxed, it’s not clinical. It sort of puts the onus on yourself to make the changes and it’s quite individualized, so even though it’s a structured programme, it’s really to adapt to your lifestyle.” (Emergency Care Clinician)

“My coach called a spade a spade, and I’m also very much like that, I can relate to that. And I think we just had a… he could almost kind of sense what I wanted to say but help me get it out.” (Paramedic)

“I think out of all the different therapies that are available men are most likely to engage with [BALM] because it is something that they will not feel stigmatised by just discussing their behaviours and their activities.” (NHS Clinician)

BALM is a gender-sensitised Behavioural Activation (BA) programme specficially designed as an early intervention for low mood and anxiety in male frontline NHS workers.

Background

Frontline healthcare workers are exposed to many different workplace stressors that can lead to mental ill health. Anxiety, stress, and depression are the primary reasons for NHS staff sickness absences. Other common mental health challenges also include feeling sad, overwhelmed, irritated and angry. Male frontline workers in particular are often reluctant to acknowledge or seek help for mental health concerns even though they are more likely to suffer from such issues. There are currently no mental health interventions tailored to men working in the NHS.

Goals

Our target population are men working in the NHS without a formal mental health diagnosis. The study will not only focus on clinicians, but also on men working in diverse roles such as estates and maintenance. The aim of BALM is to intervene early in this at-risk target group, preventing the development of mental ill health, through Behavioural Activation (BA). We will evaluate the intervention, measuring mood, anxiety and usefulness using both questionnaires and interview.

Behavioural Activation

Behavioural Activation (BA) is an effective treatment that can be used as an early gender-sensitised intervention for low mood and anxiety. We will use a self-help intervention booklet, based on BA principles. BALM 'Coaches' will be trained to guide participants through the booklet.

Find out more about Ba

What do men say about BALM?

Background

Goals

Behavioural Activation

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