The effectiveness of workplace counselling: A systematic review

“A number of studies rated of high methodological quality reported positive outcomes in relation to the impact of workplace counselling on depression: Grime ( 2004 ); Reynolds (1997); Shapiro, Barkham, Hardy, and Morrison ( 1990 ); Barkham, Shapiro, Hardy, and Rees ( 1999 ); and Sprang ( 1992 ).”

“McLeod [96] conducted a meta-analysis assessing the effectiveness of workplace counseling, including internal services, offsite amenities paid by the employer, or offering of an employee assistance program.”

“…and anxiety symptoms: for anxiety, effect size (d) = 0.29 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.06–0.53) and depression, d = 0.28 (95% CI: 0.12–0.44); McLeod (2010) conducted a review of the effectiveness of workplace counselling but reported no statistically significant results; Richardson and…”

“These have produced mixed results, with two of the three reviews finding that EAPs enhanced individual and organizational outcomes (Csiernik, 2011; McLeod, 2010).”

“range of psychological, emotional and behavioural problems that may impact on them at work (Kirk and Brown, 2003; McLeod, 2010).”

“A brief review of current interventions for workplace stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and trauma revealed similar reductions in workplace stress across a range of industries (McLeod, 2010).”

“Workplace counseling can be effective in improving anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms, but the effectiveness is dependent on the type and quality of psychological intervention provided, which can be very broad and ill-defined (167, 168).”

“…published studies EAP evaluation A comprehensive review of EAP evaluation approaches in North America Incorporating North American research only 3 McLeod (2010) CPR 1980–2005 N/A Effectiveness of workplace counseling An in-depth analysis of the positive impacts of workplace counseling on…”

“For example, partly through EAP counselling (which is mostly appraisal support), U observed ‘I put a lot of thought into what I actually thought of the restructure and what the benefits of the new structure over the current would be’.”

“A further systematic review [29] supported workplace counselling as an intervention for reducing psychological problems.”

“These averages for level of satisfaction and outcome levels are largely consistent with past research (Attridge, 2010; McLeod, 2010; Mellor-Clark, Twigg, Farrell & Kinder, 2012; Philips, 2004).”

“There is extensive literature showing it is possible to modify a farmer’s outlook and style using counselling procedures given a farmer enthusiastic over improving her/his situation (Dobson 2009; McLeod 2010).”

“What emerges from these and other previous studies is that therapy delivered in the workplace ‘is generally effective in alleviating symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression in the majority of workplace clients' (McLeod, 2010 , p.”

“These results align with those of previous reviews, which demonstrated the effectiveness of psychological counselling in other settings and populations, both clinical (Bower et al., 2003) and non-clinical (Cooper, 2013; Hill & Brettle, 2005; McLeod, 2010).”

“Several literature reviews have all concluded that there is consistent evidence for the effectiveness of EAP counseling services on both clinical and work outcomes and these outcomes provide the potential for cost savings to the employer sponsors of EAP that more than offset the investment in the services (Blum & Roma…”

“Mcleod (2010) Workplace counselling Effective in alleviating of anxiety, stress and depression in employees Butterworth et al. (2006) Motivational interviewing (MI) based health coaching Improves both physical and mental health status in an occupational setting Nieuwenhuijsen et al. (2010) Work…”

“The conclusion from many evaluation studies is that counseling from EAPs is generally effective for most employee users in areas of reducing personal and clinical distress and improving work-related outcomes such as absenteeism, presenteeism and productivity [4-10].”

“Systematic reviews have suggested well-being benefits for workplace counselling (McLeod, 2010), and limited evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy reduces sickness absence (Odeen et al.”

“of EAP services on improving worker productivity (Attridge et al., 2009; McLeod, 2010).”

“The conclusion from multiple scholarly reviews of evaluations conducted over the past four decades is that counseling from EAPs is generally effective for most employee users in areas of reducing personal and clinical distress, improving work-related outcomes (such as absenteeism, presenteeism and productivity), and t…”

“Over the years, many scholars have critically reviewed this literature on EAP effectiveness [59-73].”

“Due to the stresses of the contemporary workplace, the challenges of maintaining satisfactory work–life balance, and the costs to business that mental health has on employees, many organisations have contracted to make counselling services available to their staff (McLeod, 2010).”

“…& Inscoe, 2005; Harlow, 2005; Hargrave, Hiatt, Alexander, & Shaffer, 2008; Hargrave, Hiatt, Dannenbaum, & Shaffer, 2007; Lambert et al., 2004; McLeod, 2010; Nakao, Nishikitani, Shima, & Yano, 2007; Selvik, Stephenson, Plaza, & Sugden, 2004; see also Attridge et al., 2009, for a comprehensive…”

“However, reviews analyzing comparable offers found a high client satisfaction via numerous studies [14].”

“40,41 Wellness Programmes Engaging in physical activities provides stress relief.”

“This implies that treatment interventions should focus on helping employed individuals handle worsening cognitive abilities and social relations in the workplace by providing better access to counseling (Kirk & Brown, 2003; McLeod, 2010).”

“For example, EAPs have been shown to reduce levels of absenteeism and depression in employees (Richmond et al., 2017) and anxiety (McLeod, 2010).”

“Counselling is an effective intervention to address the mental health challenges of employees (Collins et al., 2012; McLeod, 2010).”

“…and public sector (US Department of Labor, 2017) and the EAP value proposition that counseling services enhance job productivity by reducing psychological distress, there are relatively few published studies of clinical outcomes and presenteeism among EAP clients (Csiernik, 2011; McLeod, 2010).”

“They are flexibly adjustable to employees’ skills and job requirements (Grant, 2005), individual stress and psychological symptoms (McLeod, 2010) and work-related issues and problems (Hughes & Kinder, 2007).”

“The effectiveness of such services has become a key focus, particularly in light of the challenges employees face in balancing work and life, as well as the growing costs associated with employee mental health issues [94].”

“If an intervention had been sought sooner, the EAP service or workplace counsellor could have had a more positive impact on employee engagement, to the benefit of both the professional and the organisation (McLeod, 2010).”

“The study took a practice-based process research approach (McLeod, 1999, 2010).”

“Indeed, businesses might already be crunching these numbers (Hargrave & Hiatt, 2005; Hargrave, Hiatt, Alexander, & Schaffer, 2008; McLeod, 2010; McLeod & Mcleod, 2001; Stewart, Ricci, Chee, Hahn, & Morganstein, 2003).”

“Such findings align with empirical studies, which have indicated that workplace mindfulness, 29 counseling support, 44 and coaching 45 can be beneficial for employee mental well-being.”

“…, 2023), mindfulness-based interventions (Aikens et al. , 2014; Allexandre et al. , 2016), acceptance and commitment therapy (Greville-Harris et al. , 2025; Ly et al. , 2014) as well as counseling and employee assistance programs (Attridge, 2019; Csiernik, 2011; Joyce et al. , 2016; McLeod, 2010).”

“According to the findings of the research, counselling is typically helpful in treating psychological difficulties, has a considerable impact on illness absence, and also has a moderate impact on attitudes toward work (McLeod, 2010).”

“Other studies have examined the impact of (subsidized or direct) access to benefits such as medical care and other workplace support including psychological treatment and counselling (Lerner et al., 2013; McLeod, 2010).”

“century should be proactive; focused on preventing conflicts and disruptions rather than on punishing misbehavior [15].”

“Research into the effectiveness of counseling and coaching has identified the importance of the quality of the relationship between client and counselor (see, e.g., Collins et al., 2012; Fillery-Travis & Passmore, 2011, McLeod, 2010; Tannen et al., 2017).”