More than 350 employers earn MHA’s Bell Seal Certification for Workplace Mental Health
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Mental Health America (MHA) reports its highest level of interest and awards in recent years for its 2025 Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, the nation’s leading certification for employers committed to creating mentally healthy workplaces.
Now in its sixth year, MHA’s Bell Seal program evaluates eligible employers according to four components: culture, benefits, compliance, and wellness. In 2025, Bell Seal awards were given to 359 employers, an increase of 90 from last year. Bell Seal recipients span 21 industries—from health care and government to construction and retail— and range in size from two employees to more than 1.5 million across 40 states and the District of Columbia.
In 2025, 43% of organizations qualified for the Bell Seal, out of 1,177 employers who completed a presurvey. Since 2019, MHA has received 900 applications from employers, representing a combined workforce of 5.1 million employees.
“We are in a critical time of new challenges and uncertainty for many organizations and people in 2025. We are encouraged to see more employers — from all sectors — continue to invest in the health and well-being of their workforce,” said Schroeder Stribling, president and CEO of Mental Health America.
Workplace wellness is more than an HR buzzword. Research shows that investing in employee well-being correlates with improved business outcomes. According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety among workers result in an estimated $1 trillion in productivity and an estimated 12 billion workdays.
The 2025 cohort of Bell Seal awardees saw milestone achievements, including 50 employers that have maintained certification for four years, with 20 of those employers consecutively maintaining Platinum status. Awardees this year included 196 renewing organizations and 163 obtaining certification for the first year.
“Receiving Platinum status as a Bell Seal recipient is a testament to the incredible passion and dedication of our mental health champions, who inspire us every day to build a workplace where everyone feels seen, supported, and empowered to thrive. We are committed to providing the best for our employees and extending this achievement to how we support our clients, delivering a holistic approach to well-being that recognizes mental health as a vital dimension of overall well-being,” Christine Muldoon, senior vice president of marketing and strategy atWebMD Services
To ensure the program remains comprehensive and reflective of the latest research and employer feedback, the updated 2025 Bell Seal criteria included new or expanded topics, such as transparent compensation policies, recovery-ready practices, effective communication from leadership for difficult conversations, social and emotional peer connections, and the physical work environment.
Each year MHA leverages the aggregate data from Bell Seal surveys to identify key best practices among top employers. Trends in the 2024 Bell Seal benchmarking report included more leaders sharing their own personal experiences with mental health and substance use conditions, and greater investment in mental health insurance benefits to achieve parity. Data from the 2025 Bell Seal season will be published in July.
To review the list of Bell Seal recipients, visit https://mhanational.org/bell-seal-certification/bell-seal-recipients/
About Mental Health America
Mental Health America is the nation’s leading community-driven nonprofit dedicated to promotion of mental health, well-being, and prevention. Mental Health America’s work is driven by its commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of whole person health, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; and integrated care, services and supports for those who need them. Learn more at MHAnational.org.
