Getting help

I am a 22 year old student and have been suffering with anxiety and OCD like tendencies for about 4/5 years now and finally decided to get help recently. I reached out to my University services but had a few worries regarding this. I was asked whether I want to have a one-off session with university services or to be sent to the NHS so I can have more than one session. I want to take the NHS route after attending the one off appointment however I am a little worried as my mum always told me she doesn't want me to go to therapy as she believes it may go on my record and may make it more difficult for me in the future in terms of career as she believes employers may see my information and count me out and I am worried about this as I want to go into quite a competitive field (Finance/Investment banking) and this would seriously disadvantage me. If anyone has any information regarding these treatments and going to the NHS and how much of this information employers can access it would be greatly appreciated.

Your mum is categorically wrong - I work in banking/finance and due to the pressure of the environment many employers actually offer employee assistance programmes which includes free therapy. Your medical records are confidential and can only be released by your say so or if you pose a risk to yourself or other.

It is good that you are trying to deal with your mental health through therapy. Many opt straight for medications which can be tough with start up and coming off.

The NHS advise to try therapy first then go for meds if it doesn’t work or go to meds if it’s pretty severe.


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As Ben says your medical records are covered by data protection. If an employer wants to access them your GP has to obtain your consent first.

The issue is more when applying for jobs. Employers may ask about any health conditions you have which may then be filed with their occupational health team. You have the choice of telling them or not about any conditions which you suffer from at the time but not informing them, if they have asked, might give them the opportunity to claim breach of contract if they later found out.

If you tell them the question becomes whether they want an employee who may bring baggage that could affect them later. Whilst there may be laws about discrimination it's very easy for an employer to discriminate in this circumstance because it's impossible to prove without a whistle blower from their side. Just ask anyone older, the law says they are to be considered the same, not considering physical jobs that may not be appropriate, but try proving that. It comes down to the scruples of the employer.

How would it get on your record? That's more of an issue with references but many employers only confirm your time at the company and won't comment on sickness periods.

Some employers do ask about how periods of absence you have had in x previous years. That's a way they can easily discriminate if you volunteer the information. If you have two equal prospective employees would you take the one with the perfect absence record or the one who has had lots of time off?

That's more an issue for the future though in your case.

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Originally Posted by Benjammin69

Your mum is categorically wrong - I work in banking/finance and due to the pressure of the environment many employers actually offer employee assistance programmes which includes free therapy. Your medical records are confidential and can only be released by your say so or if you pose a risk to yourself or other.

It is good that you are trying to deal with your mental health through therapy. Many opt straight for medications which can be tough with start up and coming off.

The NHS advise to try therapy first then go for meds if it doesn’t work or go to meds if it’s pretty severe.


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Thanks for the reply. I feel much better now. I don't feel like I will need medication but definitely want some help as it has been going on for quite a while.

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Originally Posted by MyNameIsTerry

As Ben says your medical records are covered by data protection. If an employer wants to access them your GP has to obtain your consent first.

The issue is more when applying for jobs. Employers may ask about any health conditions you have which may then be filed with their occupational health team. You have the choice of telling them or not about any conditions which you suffer from at the time but not informing them, if they have asked, might give them the opportunity to claim breach of contract if they later found out.

If you tell them the question becomes whether they want an employee who may bring baggage that could affect them later. Whilst there may be laws about discrimination it's very easy for an employer to discriminate in this circumstance because it's impossible to prove without a whistle blower from their side. Just ask anyone older, the law says they are to be considered the same, not considering physical jobs that may not be appropriate, but try proving that. It comes down to the scruples of the employer.

How would it get on your record? That's more of an issue with references but many employers only confirm your time at the company and won't comment on sickness periods.

Some employers do ask about how periods of absence you have had in x previous years. That's a way they can easily discriminate if you volunteer the information. If you have two equal prospective employees would you take the one with the perfect absence record or the one who has had lots of time off?

That's more an issue for the future though in your case.

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Thanks for the reply. For me it has never really been an issue with missing time for example at Universiy we are almost 8 weeks into the term and I have only missed 1 hour of teaching so for me its mainly about just not being overly anxious all the time. So from what I gather my main problem is if employers ask on forms about any kinds of health problems?

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Originally Posted by Jamie123

Thanks for the reply. For me it has never really been an issue with missing time for example at Universiy we are almost 8 weeks into the term and I have only missed 1 hour of teaching so for me its mainly about just not being overly anxious all the time. So from what I gather my main problem is if employers ask on forms about any kinds of health problems?

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That's helpful because it will mean there is no worries about absence record.

From what I have seen over the years they may ask about a) absence record (some employers can ask for a couple of years) and b) any pre-existing conditions.

Then you may have to explain pre-existing conditions on an occupational health form which that team then review. These can be considered by your employer because obviously they need to ensure you are fit for the role you apply for e.g. in the middle of complex back surgery = probably not a good idea to employ for back breaking heavy labour.

Mental health is one of those that is still an unknown. But if your anxiety doesn't affect your work performance you may be able to argue it's irrelevant. I'm not sure on that but perhaps you have a careers advice service who can answer that?

It's not just absence though. If your mental health impinges on your performance then an employer may take that into account. For instance, if you told them in the interview that you had anxiety and it stopped you doing x, y & z and that meant your productivity decreased you can imagine how you would be less attractive a prospect to someone who doesn't have the same issues.