Psychotherapeutic consultation at work and the experience of working conditions: Results of an RCT

Background

Common mental disorders (CMD) are a leading cause of work disability and productivity loss in Europe. Early detection and work‑focused early intervention can accelerate return‑to‑work and reduce individual suffering. A new intervention called psychotherapeutic consultation at work (PT-A) offers early detection and brief work‑focused cognitive‑behavioral therapy, thereby addressing both employee health and the psychosocial work environment. We assessed whether employees receiving PT‑A report a better experience of psychosocial working conditions after the intervention compared with those receiving usual care.

Methods

In a German multicenter randomized controlled trial (friaa), 549 employees diagnosed with CMD or psychosomatic symptoms were randomized 1:1 to an intervention (IG: up to 16 sessions of PT-A) and control group (CG: usual care). Working conditions were measured at baseline and at 24‑month follow‑up (T3) with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire: quantitative and emotional demands, dissolution between work and private life, decision authority, development opportunities, social support. Linear regression models examined the effect of group on T3 scores, adjusting for baseline scores and covariates (age, sex, education, baseline symptom severity).

Results

At T3, 150 IG and 105 CG participants provided data (mean age: 46 years, 55 % female). Adjusted analyses showed that the IG reported lower emotional demands (β = 5.93, SE = 2.62, p = 0.025) and less dissolution between work and private life (β = 5.09, SE = 2.57, p = 0.049). No significant effects were found for the other outcome variables.

Conclusions

PT‑A is related to reductions in the experience of two key psychosocial work demands—emotional demands and dissolution. These findings support PT‑A as an effective complementary secondary and tertiary preventive tool for enhancing the experience of a mental‑health‑supportive work environment alongside broader organizational-level interventions.

Key messages

• Psychotherapeutic consultation at work is related to reductions in perceived emotional work demands and dissolution between work and private life but not to improvements in perceived work resources.

• Psychotherapeutic consultation at work may serve as a complementary individual‑focused secondary and tertiary preventive measure to enhance experience of a mental-health-supportive work environment.