This Mental Health Awareness Week (Monday 12 May to Sunday 18 May 2025) the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ (RCVS) Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) is launching its new Applied Mental Health Science Series – a collection of bitesize content developed with a range of experts to make high-quality, practical mental health information more accessible for the veterinary professions.
According to the RCVS’s recent Disability and Chronic Illness survey, 65.7% of participants who identified as having a mental health condition said it impacted their life on a daily basis.
The series has been created to raise awareness, expand knowledge and provide a practical understanding of mental health and illness. It aims to ensure that everyone in the veterinary community has access to free, inclusive and evidence-based mental health information that also equips veterinary professionals to be able to have supportive conversations, make reasonable adjustments at work and signpost people to support. The following guides will be published throughout May and June 2025 and more will be added over time.
• Let’s talk anxiety
• Let’s talk depression
• Let’s talk OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder)
• Let’s talk PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder)
• Let’s talk perinatal anxiety and depression
All content has been developed in partnership with qualified and experienced mental health professionals and academics. The recently published ‘Understanding and managing stress in the veterinary sector’ guide is also a part of the series.
Dr Louise Allum MRCVS, RCVS council member and Chair of Mind Matters said: “The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week this year is ‘community’ – a principle that is integral to the veterinary team.
“We rely on having sense of community to create healthy workplace cultures and support structures, and to maintain a strong workforce. This is what allows us to bring our best selves to work, collaborate effectively, and achieve the best outcomes for our patients while also protecting our mental health.
“Our guides have been designed to support everyone working in the veterinary community – from vets and nurses, to practice managers and receptionists, as well as those in non-clinical settings. This holistic approach is vital when it comes to supporting wellbeing within the professions and links to the RCVS Workforce Action Plan.
“As veterinary professionals, we are often time poor, so our bitesize guides are easily digestible and provide practical tips on how to help yourself and others within your team who may be experiencing mental health challenges.”
Angharad Belcher, RCVS Director for the Advancement of the Professions, added: “MMI has always been focused on ‘prevent, protect, support’ as our key pillars, and these guides will be another way in which we can demonstrate these values. Whilst our guides are not exhaustive, our Applied Mental Health Science Series content can be used as an initial, factual, go-to resource.
“This also links into our current ‘Let’s talk adjustments’ campaign, running in partnership with our Diversity and Inclusion Team. The campaign aims to raise awareness and empower everyone in veterinary workplaces, no matter their role, disability or health condition, to have important conversations about reasonable adjustments. These guides include practical information for how reasonable adjustments for certain conditions could be applied in practice.
“While awareness raising is crucial, real change comes through practical tools and actions that help create a positive, inclusive workplace culture. Further guides and resources will be coming for individuals and managers throughout 2025.”
The Applied Mental Health Science series resources are available to download for free via the Mind Matters website. The RCVS Workforce Action Plan can also be downloaded from the RCVS website. For more information on the RCVS ‘Let’s talk adjustments’ campaign, visit the RCVS’s dedicated campaign page.