Some professions frequently confront you with human suffering. Rescue workers, doctors, nurses, emergency service and military personnel, police officers and firefighters may be mentioned in particular. It is your job to support people in emergency situations and to provide safety and creating opportunities for survival. You can play a meaningful role and actively assist in bringing people to safety, or even save lives, making this extremely rewarding work. However, this is the kind of job that will confront you with the harsh aspects of life to an extent other jobs do not. Your hands-on experience is that life is vulnerable and may be taken away, ‘just like that’. And you will be swept away by the intense emotions of the people you are trying to help, their pain, anxiety, and anger.
It is often thought that experience makes you stronger — but there are many indications that regular exposure to dangerous situations and severe human suffering leads to emotional wear and tear; the saying ’the steady drop hollows the stone’ perfectly expresses this. It may be that you find it more and more difficult to deal with such traumatic experiences, or, conversely, that you find yourself becoming indifferent and dispirited.
We have developed a training intended for people who suffer from the aftershock of a traumatic experience and are disturbed by recurrent memories or dreams of this experience. Common complaints are exhaustion, irritability, and loss of concentration. Some people may try to avoid situations that remind them of their experience. These complaints may typically result in relational and professional problems.
The training is aimed at recovery from these specific psychological complaints and learning how to cope with the experience. This is achieved in a step-by-step program:
• diagnosis and plan of action
• recovery from complaints, re-establishing personal balance
• coming to terms with the traumatic experience
• resumption of life tasks and responsibilities
The training uses a hands-on approach to recovery, using discussion, exercises and games. Information will be provided on the root cause, influence and treatment of the complaints. The way of processing will be selected in mutual consultation. This may consist of writing assignments, EMDR, and/or various games. Progress is measured by means of questionnaires about psychological complaints. Professional and private environments will both be involved in the training. All those involved will assess what is necessary in order to re-establish healthy and energetic participation in life at home and at work.
The aim of this training is to work on recovery and to resume life tasks and responsibilities. If absenteeism is involved, professional reintegration will be part of the training. The training aims to provide a learning experience for both employee and employer.
Intake/diagnosis
Before the start of the training, an employee can choose to have a first introductionary meeting. This will serve to formulate and propose an offer of treatment. As soon as this offer has been confirmed, the employee will be invited to start the intake . This consists of a consultation of 1.5 hours and filling out personality assessment questionnaires. This information will serve as the basis of a diagnostics report and suggestions for recovery and reintegration which the psychologist will provide within 10 days. If the employee agrees, the company medical officer will receive a copy of this report. By mutual agreement with the employee, the employer will receive written feedback containing information relevant to the work situation.
Sessions
The training begins with an advisory consultation based on the intake diagnostics report. If it concerns a single traumatic experience and no absenteeism is involved as yet, it is usual to offer a maximum of 10 coaching sessions. If there is an accumulation of such experiences and absenteeism in any degree is involved, 15 sessions are the norm. Besides these sessions, time will be reserved for intake/diagnosis, suggestions, and discussion.
The training will be finished when the employee is once again functioning optimally in both professional and private situations.
Suggestions/discussions
During the personal training, two consultations will be held with all people involved (manager, company medical officer, employee in question, our psychologist). As a rule, this consultation can take place online or at a Balans & Impuls location. The central aim of this consultation is to cooperate in the recovery and professional reintegration of the employee. In this consultation we will discuss what both the employee and employer can take away from what happened as well as suggestions to promote recovery and reintegration. Balans & Impuls will pay equal attention to the interests of both employer and employee.
Based on a free consultation, Balans & Impuls will offer a proposal. The course can start as soon as we have received two signed copies in acceptance of our offer. We will then send you an invoice. Payment is due within two weeks.
For more information, please call 0031-70-392 22 61 or send an e-mail to secretariaat@balans-en-impuls.nl