Leher Mental Health

Kindness might seem simple, but its impact in the workplace can be profound. Small acts of kindness don’t just improve the day-to-day experience; they can transform the entire workplace culture. Kindness fosters a sense of belonging, enhances team resilience, and creates a safe space for creativity and growth. When team members feel supported and appreciated, they’re more engaged, productive, and empowered to bring their best selves to work. Here’s how it can be a daily practice at the workplace:     - Express Gratitude Regularly: A simple "thank you" or acknowledgment of a job well done can boost morale and build a supportive environment.    - Practice Active Listening: Show empathy by truly listening to colleagues’ ideas and challenges. This not only validates their perspectives but also strengthens connections.    - Encourage Check-Ins: A quick check-in, whether over coffee or a message, can go a long way in building rapport and showing you care. On this World Kindness Day, let’s remember that kindness isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a foundation for a healthy workplace. #WorldKindnessDay #MentalHealthAtWork #KindnessInAction #HealthyWorkplaces

Leaving October on a grateful note, for all mental health professionals 💙

Today is World Mental Health Day, and this year’s theme is 'Mental Health at Work'. At Leher Mental Health, we often talk about the importance of mental health in the workplace, but today, we’d like to shift the conversation to focus on therapists—their work, and their own mental health. The space we occupy as mental health professionals is complex. There’s a common expectation that we should be the pillars of strength, always steady and unaffected. Yet, we too are human. Like anyone else, we experience exhaustion, workplace challenges, and the demands of a busy schedule. There’s also an unspoken pressure on mental health professionals to be constantly on top of things, especially around occasions like World Mental Health Day. It’s not uncommon for people to ask us, “What are you doing today?” But here's why that question can feel heavy: We work in the mental health space every single day. Our contributions aren't tied to just one day or event. While we always hope to do something special for our clients or even for ourselves, the reality is that our work isn't glamorous, and sometimes the best thing we can do is just to pause. Many of us, especially those working in hospitals, clinics, or internships, see more than 4-5 clients daily. The most valuable thing we can offer—on World Mental Health Day or any other day—is care, even if that means taking a moment to care for ourselves. So today, more than anything, we encourage everyone—whether you’re a therapist or someone passionate about mental health—to take a moment. Check in with yourself and take that 10-minute break (or maybe an hour!) that you’ve been putting off. #WorldMentalHealthDay #MentalHealthAtWork #TherapistWellbeing #TakeABreak

Some thoughts on "start-up culture" from our founder, this world mental health day!

Does being resilient mean the world is cruel? Is the onus on the world to be a gentler place? Well, the world is a challenging place, more often than not. But resilience is about taking charge. It is saying, “I know the world can be tough, but I am tougher.” It is saying, “I can not control this, but I can control how I react to it.” It is taking ownership of your reaction to the chaos that the world is.

We are here to create shores of support!

Does therapy help in making people better leaders? Among other things that therapy addresses, there are many ‘soft skills’ that we touch upon in that space as well. Skills like empathy, compassion, altruism are usually internalised through the therapeutic space. However, it is important to note, if there are specific work related goals, do that goal setting with your therapist and work towards them more proactively. These could be skills like working with neurodivergent folks, working with people from marginalised communities and being mindful of their challenges. Working with a social justice oriented lens, or through the lens of inclusivity are things you and your therapist can build on and find resources to further those skills.

An employee assistance program (EAP) is an association an organisation has with a mental health or a caregiver platform. It has been gaining more importance, but not many organisations still take it up. But why does every org need it? Here’s a few reasons why, - It makes your employees feel heard and cared for - It enhances and boosts the team’s morale - The team has someone to share things with, outside of their peers - especially for things they can’t share with their co-workers - Instead of creating a space where people only ‘bring work to work’, people can bring their whole authentic selves to the workplace - It improves communication within the organization While the motivation to care for employees is sufficient, here are a few points on how it directly impacts your business as well, - It helps retain employees much better - For people who are not able to perform well, it gives them a space to improve - It increases productivity - It makes better leaders of us all - Team strength, morale increases and people are able to work with each other in a better way. If you or your organisation is looking for an EAP provider, reach out to us at hello@lehermentalhealth.com and we will write to you on how we can collaborate to work towards a more resilient, and motivated team.

Reminder to all organisations: you can still have conversations around gender, sexuality, inclusivity and all things DE&I after June too! If anything, these conversations must go beyond June and beyond tokenism. As a topic that is still inherently considered ‘taboo’, most organisations choose to talk about it in June and the interest fizzles out for the rest of the year. Our DE&I goals must go beyond a few events and talks. It needs to be a change in the system and how we view our team and employees. For that, - Lead with curiosity and compassion. - Educate yourself before you ask a queer person a question. They are not always obligated to help you understand. It is our duty to educate ourselves. - Stand up for your queer colleagues and co-workers. - Make sure their concerns don’t go unheard or unnoticed by upper management/supervisors. - Create a safe space and open door policy for queer people to come up and talk about any unique challenges they could be facing. - Make space for conversations around PRIDE throughout the year rather than just in the month of June. - Include queer people’s families (chosen) or otherwise in events at the workplace to foster a sense of community.

Allyship is one of the biggest pillars of inclusivity at the workplace. Often, people don’t know how to be good allies or bring it to the workplace. Here are a few ways in which you can do so, Lead with compassion over curiosity. If you want to know someone’s pronouns, gender identity, come from a place of compassion rather than mere curiosity. While curiosity is natural, it is not the queer person’s responsibility to satiate that. Advocate for your queer peers or co-workers if you see them facing discrimination, stand up for them and stand with them. Include your pronouns in email signatures, this small step can make people feel safe, seen, and included. Respect your co-workers pronouns, it’s okay if you don’t always get it right, apologise and use the right pronoun if you mess up. Use gender neutral terms to ask about someone’s partner, ask them how their weekend with their partner, better half, significant other went, instead of using gendered words like girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife. If you see a trans person using the bathroom they identify with, even if they have not fully transitioned or do not look like their chosen gender, make them feel safe and welcome. Don’t give non-binary folks weird looks if you see them using different bathrooms on different days. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. The core idea is to respect it all, even if you don’t understand it all. If you are a part of the management or are a part of decision making in the organisation, you can organize DE&I workshops to work towards allyship and inclusivity. Richa Vashista Sanjana Sunil Nanodkar Jessica Sequeira Pallavi Naswa