Mental wellbeing coaching is a preventative, proactive form of mental health support. It offers employees up to 6, one-to-one video or phone sessions with a qualified coach to help them clarify what matters most and improve their mental wellbeing. It’s a collaborative, action-oriented approach to coaching, which helps your people recognise their strengths, qualities and values. It’s a convenient and confidential service that ultimately provides people with the tools, motivation and confidence to help them plan ahead and take the next steps on their wellbeing journey.

Mental wellbeing coaching is an accompaniment to your health assessment programme. It’s designed for employees who may need some extra mental health support or who have had a potential mental health risk identified, but not for anyone involved with another psychological support service or who is receiving treatment for a specific mental health challenge. It’s only available when recommended by a health professional following a Wellbeing Consultation or after completing a mental health assessment on the AXA Health app.

Mental wellbeing coaching is designed for those who are generally healthy but want to learn, develop, and grow — both personally and professionally. 

They may have an idea of what could be better, have a definite goal or desired direction in mind, or they may be willing to experiment and explore what else is possible. One-to-one coaching enables self-discovery, so people become more aware of their skills, resources and strengths. It’s designed to help them develop and successfully pursue their goals.

The first step is for an employee to understand what tools and support will be most useful to them. And that’s different for everyone. Mental wellbeing coaching can help with performance, resilience, confidence, self-belief, stress management, overcoming obstacles, improving communication, problem-solving or to help people shift their priorities and perspectives. 

These are just a few examples. Our health coaches will guide the employee through an initial assessment during which they’ll map out a plan and discuss which areas to focus on and what goals they want to set. 

No two journeys through mental wellbeing coaching are the same, but they always start with an initial video or telephone. This first conversation is designed to confirm an employee’s suitability for mental wellbeing coaching, define which areas they need to focus on, discuss priorities and set goals. 

This is followed by up to five 45-minute telephone sessions at mutually agreed intervals (typically every two weeks) over a period of approximately 12 weeks. During these sessions, employees can discuss their progress, review or adjust their focus, talk through any barriers they’ve encountered and receive the one-to-one support and expertise that’ll help them continue their mental health journey. 

Every mental wellbeing coach has qualifications and years of experience in both therapeutic fields and coaching practice. They are also members of recognised professional bodies. Everyone is supervised and completes continuous professional development on a regular basis. 

As with any programme, there are no guarantees, and the journey and results are different for everyone. But based on feedback from those who have completed their mental wellbeing coaching journey, it can help people develop, grow, increase their self-awareness and push themselves out of their comfort zone. It also gives them the tools, strategies and insight to maintain their mental health and feel more positive on a day-to-day basis. 

If an employee requests a coach of a particular gender, we’ll do our best to accommodate this. However, there’s no guarantee that we’d have specific availability at any given time, so they may need to wait until a suitable coach becomes available. 

After the initial assessment, employees typically have appointments with their coach every two weeks over a period of 12 weeks. 

Yes, if for any reason the employee wants to stop the coaching, they can relay this to their coach and discuss the next steps regarding what might be useful going forward, e.g. further support or self-management.

Typically, they’ll be able to have the first conversation with a coach within two calendar weeks of their Wellbeing Consultation.

To help us evidence improvements in an employee’s mental wellbeing, we use validated measures at the start and end of coaching to help us review progress. 

No. All communications between the employee and their coach are completed remotely (video or phone), with bespoke guidance to help set achievable goals through the 12 weeks. Appointments can be made online or by email.

Appointments aim to be every two weeks but this may vary. This enables employees to reflect and put into practice what has been discussed in the previous session. 

Mental wellbeing coaching is only available on the recommendation of a health professional based on the results of a Wellbeing Consultation or after a mental wellbeing assessment on the AXA Health app.

Regular attendance is essential to the success of mental wellbeing coaching. It’s a busy service and cancellations have a detrimental impact on other members and the wider service. For us to ensure the service can support as many people as possible, with the shortest possible waiting time, employees are required to adhere to the following service policy on attendance:  

• They are expected to attend all their sessions; preparing themselves and the space they are in to make every success of coaching.
• If they cancel an appointment within two working days, it is highly likely that their coach will have to count this cancelled session as part of their coaching allocation.
• They must provide as much notice as possible (more than two working days) if they wish to rearrange an appointment.
• If they cancel more than two appointments during their allocated sessions, even if they give more than two working days’ notice, it is highly likely that their coach will have to close their case as rescheduling appointments has a tangible impact on the efficacy of coaching and wider service challenges.
• If they do not attend an appointment without giving prior notice, it is highly likely that their coach will have to count this missed session as part of their coaching allocation.
• If they do not attend two appointments, without giving prior notice, during their allocated sessions, it is highly likely that their coach will have to close their case as rescheduling appointments has a tangible impact on the efficacy of coaching and wider service challenges. 

Our mental wellbeing coaching is available for your organisation to buy on behalf of its employees. There is no additional cost to the employee.

No. Mental wellbeing coaching can only be accessed following completion of a Wellbeing Consultation or the AXA Health app’s mental wellbeing assessment.