Showing signs of depression, tense, discouraged and tired from disturbed sleep, a teary-eyed man came into therapy for the first time and told me about his impossible job. With neither education nor training to meet the expectations placed on him, he was supposed to manage, despite inadequate software, complex regulations, an understaffed office and a hiring freeze, the pay and promotions of about 2000 salaried workers. Workdays were often eaten up by managerial meetings or phone calls from irate workers, behind in their pay.
How could he use what we know about psychology to handle this work stress? As a therapist I used a wide array of techniques from counseling and psychotherapy. He learned and used stress reduction techniques and tools adopting the ones best-suited to him. EMDR, cognitive re-framing including an on-going dialogue about his professional and personal strengths, brief relaxation methods and visualization techniques were helpful. A daily walk going to work, a long swim every weekend, a warm bath to relax in the evening and a tad bit of medication countered anxiety, promoted calm, optimism and better sleep. Using his leisure and vacation days to thoroughly relax and making small changes in his work methods further improved his state of mind.
Therapy was working. As a psychologist, it was gratifying to see him feeling better in spite of the challenges. With a tight job market and only a basic degree, he wouldn’t be able to land a new job easily. Brainstorming in therapy about his options, leaving work at work, re-doing his C.V. and discovering unknown channels for his job search encouraged him.
Four months into therapy, boosted and well-prepared, he began interviews and landed a much better job. He gave notice and applied the approach learned in the crisis to tolerate the old job gracefully, leaving it with greatly improved self-confidence.
This work reminded me as a therapist how attentive listening and on-going support can enable you to use everything you learn with the therapist to truly improve your life. The question is if you’ve already imagined this type of therapy approach for you.
Debra BERG, The Bilingual Psychologist in Paris