Making it easier for consumers to disclose a mental health problem

9 November 2022

Many people experiencing a mental health problem find it difficult to disclose their condition to an essential services provider, such as a bank or energy company.

This in part due to a lack of support or encouragement from firms to disclose, while some people also believe that say they disclosing won’t make a difference, or that they won’t be believed. As a result, millions of people are missing out on support from firms that could make a big difference in helping them manage their finances and avoid distress.

In collaboration with the Money Advice Trust, we’ve published new practical guides to help essential services firms support more people with mental health problems to disclose their condition.

Guide One – ‘Disclosure environments’ – outlines the fundamentals of disclosure, explaining how firms can encourage and support people to disclose a mental health problem.

Guide Two – ‘Disclosure experiences’ – is about responding effectively to disclosure. It describes what makes for a ‘successful disclosure’ for both the customer and firm.

Guide Three – ‘Recording disclosure’ – covers how disclosures can be processed into data to help consumers.  It also considers the balance between firms wanting to record data to protect consumers from future harm, against consumers’ controlling what is recorded about them.