Counting On U: Towards Better Mental Health

Summary

The financial state of a business and the mental health of the business owner are closely related. Thus, the devastating impact of COVID-19 on businesses means small-medium enterprises (SMEs) owners are particularly vulnerable to experiencing depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions (MHC). However, there is a tendency for SME owners to seek help about their financial concerns, rather than their mental wellbeing. For this reason, trusted business advisors (accountants, bookkeepers, coaches) who engage with their SME clients on a regular basis, are well-placed to provide advice about both the financial and mental health concerns of their SME clients.

To provide business advisors with the skills they need to have a conversation with their clients about their mental wellbeing and to encourage help-seeking where appropriate, mental health first aid (MHFA) training will be offered. And to help the business advisor forge a more trusting relationship with their client and provide higher quality advice that may alleviate their financial stresses, Relationship Building Training (RBT) will also be provided. Thus, the aim of this randomised control trial is to assess the additional benefit of combining RBT with MHFA compared with MHFA alone on the financial wellbeing of SME clients and the quality of their relationship with their business advisor.

Conditions

• Mental Health Wellness 1

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mental Health First Aid and Relationship Building Training

Relationship Building Training (RBT) is a 2 hour training session conducted live over zoom, that aims to equip business advisors the communications skills they need to enhance trustworthiness and quality of the relationship with their clients. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a certified training program. It requires 5-7 hours of online course work followed by 2 x 2.5 hour live zoom sessions, that aims to enhance mental health literacy and teach the skills needed to identify the signs of mental health conditions and to have a conversation with a person who may need professional help. Two Booster sessions are delivered 1- and 3-months after the last MHFA session that aims to give participants the opportunity to consolidate their learning and share experiences applying the knowledge/skills gained. Participants will also invite 2-3 of their small-business entrepreneur (SME) clients to join the study and complete 3 surveys to provide feedback on the success of the program.

BEHAVIORAL

Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a certified training program. It requires 5-7 hours of online course work followed by 2 x 2.5 hour live zoom sessions in addition to online reading, that aims to enhance mental health literacy and teach the skills needed to identify the signs of mental health conditions and to have a conversation with a person who may need professional help. MHFA online training is conducted two-weeks before the two MHFA sessions (with a 1 day break in between each MHFA). Two Booster sessions are delivered 1- and 3-months after the last MHFA session. The Booster sessions aims to give participants the opportunity to consolidate their learning and share experiences applying the knowledge/skills gained. Participants will also invite 2-3 of their small-business entrepreneur (SME) clients to join the study and complete 3 surveys to provide feedback on the success of the program.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Institute of Public Accountants

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Beyond Blue

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• WorkSafe Victoria

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Mental Health First Aid Australia

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Leanne Saxon

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Andew Noblet, PhD · Deakin University

• George Tanewski, PhD · Deakin University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-03-01

Primary Completion

2023-09-30

Completion

2023-09-30

Countries

• Australia

Study Locations