A Culture of Compassion - Mental Health in the Workplace PDF

A CULTURE OF COMPASSION Maria Elena “Elline” Cruz- Santos, RPm, RPsy, CSCLP, CSCOP LEARNING Awareness of the importance of MH OBJECTIVES Recognizing early warning signs of MH concerns Empathy and Compassion MH awarene...

A CULTURE OF COMPASSION Maria Elena “Elline” Cruz- Santos, RPm, RPsy, CSCLP, CSCOP LEARNING Awareness of the importance of MH OBJECTIVES Recognizing early warning signs of MH concerns Empathy and Compassion MH awareness and support within the workplace Offering emotional and practical support Importance of open communication and reducing stigma Are you mentally healthy? Mental Health Mental health was defined by World Defined Health Organization (WHO, 2014) as not only the absence of mental illnesses, but also the presence of well-being. A state in which individuals realize their potentials, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to the community. (WHO, 2007) Mental Health Continuum https://delphis.org.uk/mental-health/continuum-mental-health/ Mental Health Continuum https://pressbooks.openedmb.ca/collegefoundations/chapter/mental-health- continuum/ BioPsychoSocial Framework The Integrationist Approach to Understanding Mental Health An approach to describing and explaining how biological, psychological, and social factors combine and interact to influence physical and mental health. Have you ever been invalidated?  Key Psychosocial Responses Sending Interest and Empathy Verbal Skills Open Questions Affirmation Reflective listening Summarizing Open Questions Poorly Worded Questions: Are you sad? Why did you do that? Open Questions Asking good questions so that How did you do that? you can understand the person’s experience. Asking very good questions so What did you learn from what that the person can understand happened? their own experience. Asking extraordinary questions What will you do so you may apply so that the person is motivated to what you have learned? change their behavior. Affi rmation Validation/Normalization Education Empowering Reframing Expression of Empathy Emphatic Expression Level 1 No Relationship to the interviewee’s response Staff: The tasks are becoming so difficult. I want to give up. Manager: I’m hungry. Emphatic Expression Level 2 Superficial awareness of meaning of statement Staff: The activities in the training are very difficult. I don’t want anymore. Manager: We have more tasks to do. It’s so tiring. Emphatic Expression Level 5 Paraphrasing, verbatim, playback, clarification statements, restatement responses Interviewer add significantly to interviewee’s responses. Emphatic Expression Level 5 Staff: The work tasks are very difficult. I don’t want anymore. Manager: It must be really difficult for you. Staff: I don’t know if this is what I really want to do. Manager: Perhaps when we are getting tired, we forget why we started what we are doing now. Do you still remember what made you apply for this job? Staff: This is my dream job. I worked hard to get this. I may need some rest and recharge. I’ve been hard to myself lately. Verbal Skill Paralinguistic Voice and how words are said: “Can you tell me what your problem is?” “What did you do?” Workplace Culture  COMPASSION Strauss et al. (2017) 1 2 3 Recognizing Suffering Understanding the universality Feeling moved by the person of suffering in human suffering and emotionally experience connecting with their distress 4 5 SERVICE 6 Tolerating uncomfortable feelings Acting or being motivated to aroused (e.g., fear, distress) so act to alleviate suffering. that we remain open to and accepting of the person suffering  How would you treat a friend? First, think about times when a close friend feels really bad about him or herself or is really struggling in some way. How would you respond to your friend in this situation (especially when you’re at your best)? Please type what you typically do, what you say, and note the tone in which you typically talk to your friends  How would you treat a friend? Now think about times when you feel bad about yourself or are struggling. How do you typically respond to yourself in these situations? Please chat type what you typically do, what you say, and note the tone in which you talk to yourself.  How would you treat a friend? Did you notice a difference? If so, ask yourself why. What factors or fears come into play that lead you to treat yourself and others so differently?  How would you treat a friend? Please type how you think things might change if you responded to yourself in the same way you typically respond to a close friend when you’re suffering. SELF- COMPASSION Why not try treating yourself like a good friend and see what happens? Self- Compassion https://www.cruxmp.com/blog/self-compassion-resilience  Self-Compassion and Compassion to Others “Compassion is the wish that all beings be free from suffering and the willingness to help alleviate that suffering.” “This value is rooted in the assumption that to have true compassion for others, one must first cultivate compassion for oneself.” Participants with good mental health showed higher associations between self-compassion and compassion for others than those with poorer mental health. Self-compassion and compassion for others appear to be dimensional constructs that can converge or diverge. When they converge, it is associated with better mental health.”  https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/employee-assistance-program https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.FTP.26042021.6/full/ There is love and support around you. Thank you. A CULTURE OF COMPASSION Maria Elena “Elline” Cruz- Santos, RPm, RPsy, CSCLP, CSCOP