Health Worker Services

All professions have at least one occupational hazard. In some careers - such as police work or fire fighting - new trainees are taught how to prepare and handle these potential difficulties. In addition, workers in these types of high profile fields are provided with ongoing assistance to deal with the traumas and stresses regularly experienced whilst engaged in such work.

In the field of Health Care however, this isn’t always the case. There appears to be an expectation that workers are somehow immune to the life traumas experienced by those they care for. Often it is assumed that because Health Care Workers are not the first on the scene, or because they do not have to run into burning buildings to save lives, they are somehow distanced from the pain and suffering of their patients. Those working in Health Care however know that this could not be further from the truth.

The average member of the public would not consider the roles of Physiotherapist, Osteopath, or Chiropractor as being associated with occupational risk or trauma. The general public tends to consider these caring positions as being very low on the scale of potential impact from interaction with their patients. The reality however is that the personal nature of working with an individual in pain, in the close familiar surroundings of a clinic, lends itself well to a patient developing a high degree of trust in their carer. This trust often extends far beyond that of caring for a patient’s muscular/skeletal system to encompass deeper revelations of their personal lives. In these instances Health Care professionals can find themselves suddenly faced with an expectation for emotional support for which they are neither trained nor prepared. This seldom discussed area of patient requested emotional support and the unexpected impact of a patient’s personal story on care workers can often cause high levels of personal pain and anxiety. If workers have no outlet for these emotions they can easily affect their home lives and private relationships. In addition, these types of unsupported emotional reactions are partly responsible for the high levels of trainee dropout in these professions.

East Herts West Essex Counselling Services has developed a support program for Physiotherapists, Osteopaths and Chiropractors to address this very issue. Originally piloted with the Stortford Grange Physiotherapy Clinic in Bishops Stortford, this program includes both personal sessions with clinic staff as well as group work within the practice itself. A regular weekly counselling session is open to the clinic staff who schedule its use amongst themselves as and when they need it. The session is open to all employees including reception staff. On average, each member of staff enjoys a personal session once every 4 to 6 weeks though additional sessions are made available in the event of a particularly difficult patient situation.

In addition to the regularly available individual sessions, once every 2 months a group session is made available which the entire clinic staff has the opportunity to attend. These sessions give the staff an opportunity to discuss patient care issues which may be affecting the entire team’s ability to provide care, as well as providing a unique opportunity to bond as a cohesive working group. The opportunity to discuss the impact of working closely with troubled patients has had an immediate and dramatic effect on staff morale both in and out of the workplace, as well as increased productivity. For practices with fewer staff or individual practitioners, this program can be modified to reflect the needs and situation of the care worker.

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Relaxation – Stress Reduction Training

With the daily pressures of the modern world, finding time to relax properly can often be a real challenge. Whether your difficulties lie in falling asleep, high blood pressure and anxiety levels, or you need to learn to relax to be able to deal with a specific event such as flying, an upcoming wedding, or impending child birth, lower levels of stress and greater peace of mind are closer than you may realise. Using a combination of recorded material and personal training, I can teach you how to quickly and easily relax in order to enjoy life’s experiences more fully.

Relaxation, Stress Reduction, and Visualisation training can either be done with individuals or in workshop format for groups. Group workshops can be held at any location which may suit your needs.

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