Resources
This collection ranges from self-help strategies and online programs, to tips on urgent and more comprehensive support Subscribe to our newsletterNext Steps
Resources and tools to start the conversation
free resources for both business advisors and SME business owners to support the mental wellbeing of yourself and others
Helpline services are available right now in New Zealand that offer support, information and help for you and your parents, whanau, friends and colleagues. If you or anyone you know is experiencing distress, or are in need of additional support, please contact the below free services:
Free call or text 1737 for support from a trained counsellor
Lifeline 0800 543 354 or Free text 4357 (HELP) www.lifeline.org.nz
For more information on specific helplines, please visit www.mentalhealth.org.nz/helplines
From Mentally Well Workplaces
Anxiety Strategies
Mental health maintenance is a great way to keep your resilience up. Here are some tools to support you.
A 5 minute animated video
From Mentally well workplaces
Depression
A short video outlining the signs and symptoms of depression and how to get help.
From Mentally well workplaces
Coming out of Covid-19
A short video on what to expect as we come out of lockdown and strategies to help cope.
Services
The Mental Health Tool Kit
Ahead for Business
Ahead for Business has been developed by Everymind to support small business owners to take action on their mental health and wellbeing through personalised resources and tools tailored to their specific needs. It provides targeted and tailored support in various industries (tourism, entertainment, and family daycare) and geographic locations.
Heads Up
Beyond Blue’s Heads Up program aims to help small-medium business owners and their staff’s mental health and wellbeing. This free course includes podcasts and further readings. For business advisors, Heads Up introduces mental health topics and provides tools on how to look after yourself, and how to check on someone’s wellbeing.
Mental Health First Aid®
If you or your staff would like to receive Mental Health First Aid training, but are not eligible to take part in the Counting on U training program, please visit MHFA™.
RUOK?
RUOK has role-play videos and practical tips on how to check in with others and open the conversation on mental health.
Rural Financial Counselling Service
Rural Financial Counselling Service is an Australian Government initiative that provides free and independent financial counselling to eligible farmers, fishers, foresters and small related enterprises who are experiencing, or at risk of, financial hardship. The objectives of the RFCS Program are to transition clients out of financial crises, improve clients’ business profitability or facilitate a dignified exit, and to improve clients’ financial well-being and resilience. Visit their dedicated service provider page to learn where rural financial counsellors are located.
Beyond Blue NewAccess for Small Business Owners
NewAccess for small business owners is a free and confidential mental health program, developed by Beyond Blue to give small business owners the support they need. Over six sessions, coaches with a small business background will work with you to overcome difficult issues, providing you with practical skills to manage stress and get you back to feeling like yourself. No doctor’s referral is needed. Available via phone or video call 8 am-8 pm AEST. For more information visit the website.
Beyond Blue NewAccess For Individuals
NewAccess mental health coaching is a guided 6-session self-help program. It’s designed to give you the skills to manage everyday life stresses such as work, study, relationships, health or loneliness. The program is confidential, free of charge to you and you don’t need a doctor’s referral. NewAccess is developed by Beyond Blue and delivered by mental health service providers. For more information visit the website.
Black Dog Institute
Black Dog Institute provides wellbeing resources for workplaces, including guides on how to create a mentally well workplace.
My Business Health
My Business Health is a website hosted by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO). It is designed to help small business owners navigate the wealth of information available to them and provides small business owners with easy access to tools, templates, and services. Support includes information on finances, empowering through building relationships, a business toolbox, a well-being check-up, and how to plan for a mentally healthier business. My Business Health also helps SBOs maintain their wellbeing as they navigate their way through COVID-19.
Mental Wellbeing: Support Yourself and Small Businesses
Mental wellbeing: support yourself and small businesses is a free, four-part learning course designed to improve mental health and wellbeing literacy, and educate advisers about how to have an empathetic conversation with small business owners they know.
The course takes less than 60 minutes to complete and covers four key areas:
- An introduction to mental health and how to recognise when someone needs support
- How advisers can look after their own wellbeing in the workplace and at home
- How to have a conversation with a small business owner you are worried about
- How advisers can proactively support small business owners.
This course is complementary to Counting on U (CoU) whereby it offers an entry-level insight to supporting small business owners’ wellbeing, whilst CoU is a formal 1.5 day course (spread over time) teaching skills on both client relationship building and mental health first aid. CoU also combines CPD points and an accreditation certificate via attending ‘live’ Zoom workshops, self e-learning, and post-training coaching and support.
Deakin Business School
Download a model on different social styles and how you can flex the way you communicate business advice to suit your clients’ styles.
Small Business Debt Hotline
Small Business Debt Hotline is a not for profit that helps small business owners and sole traders in financial difficulty. They are experts in small business finance, debts, negotiating and counselling. Call 1800 413 828 Monday to Friday: 9am – 5.30pm (AEST) or chat online.