accessing mental health services this World Mental Health Day 2025
This World Mental Health Day, the focus is on access to services, and, at caba, we know just how important this is. An estimated 1 billion people globally live with a mental health condition and, left untreated, this can lead to more serious illnesses, making access to mental health services a necessity, rather than a luxury.
Chartered accountants aren’t immune to mental health issues, and caba’s research showed that 74% of chartered accountants that participated in its study had experienced burnout in the past year. With demanding workloads, high professional standards and the pressures of everyday life, finding the right support can feel difficult –but it shouldn’t be.
That’s why this World Mental Health Day, we’re shining a light on the importance of making mental health support accessible, approachable, and stigma-free for everyone.
why access to mental health services matters
Accessing mental health services means being able to get the support you need, when you need it. But it’s not just about availability – it's about ease, awareness, and removing the stigma.
For many professionals, especially those in demanding roles, time, confidentiality, and convenience can also become barriers. When support feels out of reach, people can delay getting help until problems become overwhelming.
Early, stigma-free support can prevent issues from escalating, reduce burnout, and help people maintain their health before they reach crisis point. Everyone deserves to find the right help, at the right time, and to know that they’ll be met with understanding and care when they do.
how caba can support you
caba's belief is that everyone who needs mental health support accesses it. As a charity dedicated to helping those in the ICAEW community, we’ve made our services and support as easy as possible to access to those in our community.
mental health resources
No two people experience mental health in the same way – and there’s no single route to feeling better. Understanding your own mind takes time, reflection, and the right kind of support. caba offers a variety of online tools and resources designed to help you take small, manageable steps towards managing your mental health.
Our e-learning sessions, self-help articles, and practical guides can help you recognise the signs of stress, manage anxiety, build resilience, and develop healthy coping strategies – at a pace that works for you.
Take a look at our mental health guides, courses and resources.
Qwell
While many of us are struggling with our mental health, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t faced with stigma when seeking support. In fact, a survey revealed that stigma stops three in five people experiencing mental illness from seeking support.
As an anonymous online service, Qwell helps mitigate any of these barriers. It allows you to access a variety of resources immediately and can connect with a professional counsellor as quickly as the same day. Because it's anonymous, you don’t provide any personal details – not even an email – and you can tell the counsellor as much, or as little as you feel comfortable with.
Getting started with Qwell is quick, easy, and free – and even your first message can make a difference. You can find out more here.
talking therapies
As opposed to Qwell, talking therapies offer a more structured approach. Typically, you’ll have face-to-face meetings or video calls with an accredited professional, where you’ll discuss your thoughts, feelings and experiences, and look at situations in a different way.
Usually, you’ll have multiple sessions with the same practitioner in order to build trust and allow yourself to open up more.
Talking therapies can be expensive, or have long-waiting times, both of which can be off-putting to someone who’s decided to take the step. And at caba, we know how difficult taking the first step can be, which is why we offer to connect you with therapists who can see if it’s the right service for you. No lengthy waiting times or costs necessary.
Find out more about talking therapies.
how accessing support can help you
Take a look at some real stories of people we've helped, and what difference it made.
It helps you develop your self-awareness
‘’ Two of my friends died due to suicide during lockdown. Things got very frightening. I ended up sobbing on my kitchen floor. It was then that I called caba. They saw that I needed help fast and got me access to a counsellor very quickly. With support I realised that I did in fact have the capacity to look after myself. My self awareness increased and I worked on my mental-fitness.’’
It helps you identify your triggers – and how to manage them
‘’ The sessions helped me realise that I have several triggers for my negative emotions. For example, I would get very stressed at work because answering phone calls and emails was unbearable for me.
I knew the reason was because I'd had so much horrific news delivered to me in this way. I felt like everything I did would turn into disaster. My counsellor taught me the difference between a reaction and a response. I learned to step aside from my immediate response, which was terror, and react in a more measured way.’’
It helps you understand your way of working
‘’ I started reading caba's articles and felt motivated to go on some courses to build my resilience. I was determined to get better at looking after myself. On those courses I learned that I could work well as long as I was in a low-stress environment.’’
It can help validate your feelings
‘’While I was on the resilience course, I found out that caba offered coaching in other areas. I decided to give it a go. It was a real eye opener. My coach helped me see that this colleague's behaviour was being facilitated in part by the management, which meant that it was a management issue, not a personal one. This allowed me to approach the problem in a much more pragmatic way.’’
Originally founded by chartered accountants, caba is a charity that provides support for past and present ICAEW members, ACA students, and their families. For more information, or to access support, get in touch with a member of the team.