Case studies

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Anger management Hide

It is often the case that callers telephone the Bupa Employee Assistance helpline believing they have a problem with one thing but as they tell their story to one of our qualified counsellors it becomes apparent that there are other issues involved. Often by addressing one of these issues the other problems can be alleviated.

We had a male caller contact the Bupa Employee Assistance helpline who said he was experiencing stress at work. He had had stress management training and was aware of what the symptoms were. He was experiencing a few of these: tension headaches, backache and at times a lack of concentration. He noticed that he had become tense and he was finding it more and more difficult to control his temper both at work and at home.

The telephone counsellor recognised that workplace stress was potentially just a symptom of a more deep-seated issue. She believed that by helping the caller manage his anger, much of the stress he believed he was experiencing would disappear. The telephone counsellor recommended the caller visit a face-to-face counsellor. He agreed and the details of the caller’s situation were passed on to a counsellor who specialised in anger management.

The first session was arranged between the client and the counsellor he had been referred to. The Bupa counsellor employed solution-focused counselling to identify some helpful coping mechanisms to help the client avoid losing his temper. These strategies were at times as simple as walking away from the situation or counting to 10, but the client used them very effectively. Another one of the sessions concentrated on identifying particular situations, both in the workplace and at home, which had triggered the client’s temper in the past. By identifying these situations the client was able to predict when these might occur and therefore either avoid them or mentally prepare himself for them.

By employing solution-focused counselling the benefits are visible rapidly. This type of counselling allowed this individual to identify areas of his life where the probability of getting angry was elevated. He could also take away practical strategies which equipped him to cope with this issue if it arose in the future.

Bereavement Hide

Sometimes, it is appropriate to refer a caller to face-to-face counselling immediately after the initial assessment by our qualified telephone counsellors has been completed. One such example was when a caller telephoned the helpline because her partner, aged 38, had died unexpectedly. She was having trouble coming to terms with his death and coping on her own with her two-year-old son. Every time she looked at her son she was reminded of her husband and was finding the situation more and more difficult to deal with. She had a good support network that had encouraged her to seek professional help.

The initial assessment conducted by the counsellor who answered the call highlighted the need for face-to-face counselling. A bereavement counsellor was found near the caller’s home and an appointment was made for a time when her mother was able to look after her son.

The bereaved individual attended a number of counselling sessions with the face-to-face counsellor. The counsellor encouraged her to speak about her partner and the consequences his death was having for her and her son. It became apparent that the woman was feeling really angry that her partner had left her and her son to face life without him. She perceived it to be wrong to feel angry and felt that she didn’t want to communicate this emotion to her support network for fear of being judged. The counsellor assured the woman this was a normal part of the grieving process. By normalising such emotions as anger, guilt, shock and denial the woman was able to embrace the grieving process instead of controlling it.

The counsellor was available to discuss the emotions that arose during the funeral, and was able to advise her on the best way to tackle her partner’s death with her son. The sessions provided by the Bupa Employee Assistance allowed this individual to adjust to, and continue, the grieving process that all individuals encounter when losing somebody close to them.

In such instances, there may be a requirement for support further down the line. The Bupa Employee Assistance Programme is at the end of the telephone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help in the future. All the details of this case are available to our counsellors, which would save the individual the distress of repeating her circumstances should she need further support. Also, if it is needed we can put individuals in contact with charitable organisations who can provide support and advice during the bereavement process.

Harassment and bullying in the workplace Hide

Bupa’s Employee Assistance deals with both personal and work-related issues. There are times when individuals experience problems at work, but they do not feel that they can seek help. This often means that the problem escalates and spills over into their personal life. One such call came from an employee who was being bullied by her manager. The situation resulted in problems sleeping, a lack of concentration, tearfulness and a tendency to shy away from her responsibilities at work. Because the employee had not felt able to seek support and guidance early for fear of being bullied more, the symptoms continued to the point where she was signed off work because of her health.

While away from the work environment (where the bullying was taking place) the caller had time to gain a sense of perspective about the situation and build up enough confidence to telephone the Bupa Employee Assistance helpline. The helpline is confidential, independent and impartial.

The caller first spoke to one of our telephone counsellors who conducted a primary assessment. The need for face-to-face counselling was recognised and offered to the client. During these face-to-face sessions, the counsellor provided a debrief of the bullying incidents the individual had experienced. The counsellor encouraged and instilled enough confidence in the individual to contact the HR department within her company.

While still attending counselling sessions, the HR department arranged a meeting between the manager, another colleague and the individual. Prior to the meeting the counsellor and the client performed “role plays” simulating what was likely to happen in the meeting. When the client felt able to cope with the meeting she met with the manager and a mutual colleague. Support from the counsellor was provided after this meeting through debriefing. After addressing the issues with the HR representative, the manager and the counsellor, the individual felt able to return to work one month after the call was originally made to the Bupa Employee Assistance helpline. The counsellor supported the individual through this transition back to work.

A follow up with the counsellor once the course of sessions had been completed highlighted the benefits the Bupa Employee Assistance programme had for this individual. The involvement of the HR department meant the situation could be monitored and if further interventions were required these could be implemented.

Dealing with trauma Hide

How our EAP coupled with a management referral works in practice.

An employee of one of our clients was alone one night in his council flat when a drug addict broke into his home. He was threatened with a knife and tied up while his possessions were stolen. The addict then stabbed the man, realising he could be identified. The next day the HR manager called us when she found out that the employee was in hospital.

We managed to calm the HR manager down and assure her that it wasn’t appropriate to get a counsellor out there and then. We then emailed some information to the HR manager for herself and her employee on the affects of traumatic incidence and what to expect in the coming days and weeks. We explained that it was natural for most people to be shocked and anxious for a period of time after a traumatic event and that any symptoms were the body’s normal reaction to help it cope. We also emphasised that the employee would not necessarily be traumatised in the long term.

Several days later we arranged for a counsellor to spend some time with the individual concerned. The counsellor then ran a session with line managers and HR on how to manage the individual over the coming months. The employee returned to work and was offered access to free counselling should he need it. Four weeks later the employee said he did not feel counselling was necessary.

About three or four months passed before the HR manager called us again to say that they were concerned about the individual. He had started to act differently towards his colleagues - making inappropriate comments and being generally disruptive. The HR manager wondered if this could be related to the initial incident. We advised that any significant change in behaviour could well be related but that more investigation was needed initially.

We reminded the HR manager at this point that, while it was good she was looking out for the employee, she also had a responsibility to protect other employees, especially if they were being exposed to inappropriate behaviour. Further investigation revealed that among other things the individual had become isolated from colleagues and friends - he was not leaving the house very often and was drinking a lot more heavily. The symptoms suggested his behaviour was related to the initial incident.

A formal management referral was recommended to help the individual to receive assistance and to ensure the organisation could secure its duty of care over other employees, including showing a paper trail which proved it was doing all it could for both the employee and his colleagues. Alongside the HR manager we approached the employee offering a management referral as a follow-up to the initial debrief which we said was standard best practice. The employee, who was obviously suffering, was happy to sign the referral form and we organised for the same counsellor who performed the original debrief to conduct the management referral and subsequent counselling.

The result was that the employee took a sabbatical from his job while he worked through the issues with the counsellor. The organisation knew it had done all it could to help their employee and to protect other members of staff so that they were able to get on with their normal work lives. The employee subsequently returned to work and all is progressing satisfactorily to-date, with regular follow-up planned.

Financial pressures Hide

Our counsellors often receive calls from individuals who are worried about their financial affairs. One instance was a call from a gentleman who not only had the day-to-day financial obligations of looking after a family he was also responsible for paying off both his own and his wife’s debt.

Our qualified debt counsellor encouraged him to look at his spending patterns. She talked him through possible options for increasing income, minimising expenditure and contacting creditors.

As the conversation unfolded our trained debt counsellor identified other issues that were having a negative impact on his life and therefore needed addressing. One large source of stress for him stemmed from his wife being an alcoholic. He was reluctant to seek any support, particularly from his family, because he didn’t want others to judge his wife. This had a tremendous impact on his home life but was also spilling over into his work life.

After the counsellor had conducted her assessment, a debt pack designed by our team of financial advisers and our debt counsellors was sent to the client. This provided written advice about debt management and letter templates to use to notify creditors of his situation. This pack is designed to provide clarification of the verbal advice given by our counsellors over the telephone. Additionally, face-to-face counselling was offered to both him and his wife. He accepted the counselling and attended several solution-focused counselling sessions. He also approached his wife about the services available and she attended separate sessions to address her alcohol problems.

The gentleman called back to thank and update the counsellor who had originally taken this call. The caller’s financial issues were being remedied because, not only were the underlying issues being addressed, but a repayment plan had been agreed with the creditors which eased the financial pressure the caller was experiencing. His wife had returned to part-time work that had increased the family’s income. Her alcohol consumption had also lowered considerably which meant their expenditure had also dropped. The wife had been referred on to a counsellor provided through a charitable organisation for longer-term treatment after the face-to-face sessions provided by her husband’s company, as part of Bupa Employee Assistance, had been completed.

Personal and work life: an integrated approach Hide

A male caller in his 20s telephoned the Bupa Employee Assistance helpline wanting advice and guidance on his relationship with his girlfriend. As the conversation unravelled it became apparent that this was not the only concern affecting his life. Most problems do not occur in isolation, they are usually tightly intertwined with other aspects in one’s life.

After spending some time on the telephone to one of our qualified counsellors the caller’s situation became clear. The caller was having problems communicating with his girlfriend. She was being pushed away because he was unsure what he wanted and was therefore contemplating finishing the relationship. The caller’s parents had broken up and each parent was treating him as a go-between. He felt trapped in the middle of his mother and father and felt like his feelings about the situation did not matter to either of them. This meant he had stopped being assertive and had stopped trying to express his feelings, not only to his parents, but also to his girlfriend and at work.

Other problems at work revealed themselves in his second call to the telephone counsellor. It was evident he also felt trapped in his job. He felt insignificant and generally discouraged. The counsellor and the caller discussed the different options of how he could remedy the situation at work. The caller identified a plan that would provide him with more responsibility but would also free up some of his manager’s time. Our qualified counsellor encouraged him to communicate these ideas to his manager.

During the third telephone call, the caller stated that his manager had welcomed the change. By having the confidence to voice his opinions at work, and gain a positive outcome from doing so, a knock-on effect was seen in other areas of his life. He was able to express to his girlfriend what he wanted from their relationship and was also able to stand up to his parents. This third telephone call gave the telephone counsellor dealing with the case enough information to close the case. The caller had been lifted from his state of despair. He had gained sound advice, support and guidance from a qualified professional, which had significantly improved the quality of both his personal and work life.