Mental wellbeing

The School has an in-house counselling team for staff that allows you to discuss a problem or situation that is causing concern or distress that is taking place at work or home.

The counselling at LSE is fully inclusive where individuals should feel comfortable approaching staff counsellors regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religious faith. 

The counselling team also run personal development workshops that can help to overcome barriers and work towards better wellbeing.

Why not go on to the training booking system to reserve a space on one of the great workshops, such as:

• Developing emotional resistance
• Overcoming procrastination
• Mindfulness and stress reduction
• Sleep well

Places can be booked through the LSE training system.

Also, take a moment to look at all Staff Counselling Services for more details about their services and resources.

Confidential telephone counselling is available for all staff courtesy of the Employee Assistance Programme). The EAP aims to provide staff with access to confidential support on aspects of wellbeing, including counselling, health information, legal advice and more.

You can contact the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)* by calling 0800 107 6147 (quoting LSE as the name of your employer) or access the online portal by visiting www.colleaguesupport.co.uk (entering code 206011 as your username and password).

There's no limit to the number of calls you can make and your anonymity is assured at all times. 

*Provided by BHSF Employee Benefits Limited in association with The Employee Resilience Company Ltd

Violence and harassment of any kind has no place at LSE - we all have a responsibility to treat others with respect and dignity, working together to build a safe and welcoming institution for everyone at LSE. 

If you have experienced, or witnessed, any form of sexual violence, bullying or harassment, and you want to report this to LSE, you can do this in two different ways. 

1. You can first speak to a Safe Contact who will be able to offer further information and support to help you decide if you would like to report your experience to LSE. 

2. You can also report to LSE directly by using Report and Support. This report can be completely anonymous. You can also choose to share your name and some brief contact details, if you want someone from LSE to contact you. 

Find out more on our How to report an incident page.

With the 10 Minute Mind, just 10 minutes a day can help you to learn how to decrease your stress levels and increase your focus and happiness levels. Subscription is completely free and only takes a minute to do - just visit www.the10minutemind.com/lse

We'd love to hear your feedback, which you can share by contacting the wellbeing team staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk

As part of the School's commitment to supporting mental and emotional wellbeing, a network of over 200 colleagues have been trained as Mental Health First Aiders so that they can: 

• Use Mental Health First Aid to support someone experiencing a mental health issue or crisis
• Listen non-judgementally and have supportive conversations
• Signpost colleagues to professional help

In addition, the School has a number of Mental Health Staff Champions - these are colleagues who take action in the workplace to change the ways in which we all think and act about mental health. Take a look at the webpage to see who your Champions are and how you can get in touch to talk about mental health and wellbeing. 

At the time of writing, the Mental Health First Aiders Network is in the process of being reviewed and refreshed - if you'd like to be involved, keep an eye out for announcements about future training dates! 

The School has introduced an online Mental Health Awareness at Work module (offered by the national charity Mind) to support staff returning to campus. The module includes areas such as tips for self-care and building resilience, alongside understanding mental health problems and raising awareness of wellbeing in the workplace.

Just click here to access the module, which should take about 50 minutes to complete.

Mental health awareness for managers                  

The Staff Counselling Service joined forces with LSE Health and Safety to deliver a pilot one day Mental Health awareness course for managers. The slides used by the Counsellors and by the Head of Health and Safety are available, as well as a revised Stress Risk Assessment form. You require an LSE log-in to access these documents.  

Mental Health First Aid Training                  

Managers and other staff can attend a two-day nationally approved course for those without specialist mental health training, but who might encounter mental health issues in the course of their work. It aims to:                  

• promote awareness of mental health issues
• train non-professionals to recognise those affected by mental health problems
• offer help and guidance towards obtaining professional support                    

On completing the course, participants should:

• understand the symptoms and risk factors relating to common mental health issues
• where appropriate, be able to offer "crisis first aid" safely and confidently to someone suffering from mental health difficulties
• have a working knowledge of the treatment and resources available in order to direct people to the appropriate local or national services                    

Places can be booked through the LSE Training System.                  

Managers' guide to mental health issues                  

A practical guide to managing and supporting mental health problems in the workplace. 

A new online interactive training session will help you to identify when a student might need support, know how best to listen and respond to a student, as well as how to arrange support and get urgent help in a serious situation.

Please click here for more details and how to access the training session. 

Stress management: resources for staff

10 stress busters (NHS)

Get help with stress (NHS)

Stress management: guidance for managers                  

The resources developed by the Health and Safety Executive also include a practical guide to managing and supporting people with mental health problems in the workplace.            

Self-assessment tool for managers: managing workplace stress                  

The Health and Safety Executive in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has produced a self-assessment Line Manager Competency Indicator Tool for managers to help them reflect on their management style to assess how their behaviour helps to manage workplace stress.       

Training sessions for managers were previously run during Summer Term 2022, delivered by Mental Health First Aid England

The School is currently exploring dates for future sessions as part of expanding mental health awareness. 

We understand that financial challenges can often have implications for mental wellbeing. LSE’s Benevolent Fund is a reserve of money dedicated to helping staff who are experiencing significant financial hardship and distress. For full details, including how to apply to the Fund, please see the webpage. 

The Wellness Toolkit, which was developed and launched in 2023, includes practical resources that can help individuals to address and manage their mental wellbeing. This includes Wellness Action Plans that can be used to identify and record everyday actions to address minor wellbeing issues, as well as a detailed section on stress identification and management (completed by a template for undertaking stress risk assessments). Staff and managers are encouraged to explore the Toolkit; we'd also welcome your feedback about the contents at Staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk.

As part of the School's mental wellbeing support for staff, three training sessions have been agreed with UMO - a company specialising in mental health training and support in Higher Education - to run during 2025/26. These sessions are open to all staff; just click on the relevant link to sign up.

During Winter Term, you can access a series of online talks by Bupa wellbeing specialists that staff can access, courtesy of EduHealth.

• Creating Healthy Habits (2-3pm, Thursday 29 January): if you missed this talk, you can access the recording here.
• Exercise and Nutrition for Healthy Eating (11am-12pm, Thursday 12 March): Over the course of one hour, this talk will explore the two areas of healthy living we have most control over: eating a balanced diet and engaging in regular exercise. Just click this link to sign up via the QR code and learn more about an evidence-based approach to food groups, strength training, and the science of staying fit while balancing work and home life. 

You may find these external links useful: 

• The Access to Work Mental Health Support Service is a confidential service which is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions. This is a free service for any employees with depression, anxiety, stress or other mental health issues affecting their work. Please visit the webpage for more details.
• We are Rethink Mental Illness provides information on mental health services by local area across the UK, as well as many other online resources. 
• Your Mind Plan: just answer 5 quick questions in this interactive quiz and get top tips and advice tailored to you.