I READ with interest the article “Working for mentally healthy offices” (Sunday Star, Oct 7) but I couldn’t help thinking that the ideal situations described therein are exceptions rather than the norm.

In fact, some employers are actually moving in the opposite direction. For example, a national utility company recently issued the directive that only psychiatrists could initiate antidepressant therapy for its employees. This directive has caused much mental anguish among its panel doctors because many patients with psychosomatic symptoms but only mild anxiety and depression do not like the stigma of visiting psychiatrists. Yet the panel doctors’ hands are tied when it comes to initiating antidepressant therapy for them.