The British Dental Association (BDA) has launched a new partnership with the award-winning employee assistance programme Health Assured to provide all BDA members with a 24-7 comprehensive and confidential counselling service.

The service offers expert advice and compassionate guidance, a pathway to structured telephone counselling for members or their dependents and for members face-to-face counselling sessions, alongside advice on any issues that cause anxiety or distress including debt management, accountancy, lawsuits, consumer disputes, property or neighbour disputes.

The BDA’s own research has found that almost half of dentists say stress in their job is exceeding their ability to cope. BDA surveys have found high levels of stress and burnout among the profession, with a fifth of respondents (17.6%) admitting they had seriously thought about committing suicide.

The Health Assured coverage includes access to their Health e-Hub App (via the App Store and Google Play) which offers access to holistic health and wellbeing support anywhere and anytime, an online portal with a virtual library of wellbeing information, and a range of online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) self-help modules, factsheets and invaluable advice videos from leading qualified counsellors. 

BDA Chair Mick Armstrong said: “Mental health matters. Evidence shows dentists are now in desperate need of support, and sadly all too often aren’t even offered signposts to basic services.

“We set out to guarantee that none of our members need to suffer in silence. Whatever is causing stress, with our friends at Health Assured we can now offer counselling, advice and tools, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”