Specialised counselling services that support employees who have experienced traumatic stress, psychological/physical injury and/or mental illness in returning to work.
KINNECT’s Adjustment to Injury Counselling service is grounded in an evidence-based framework that focuses on assisting injured workers overcome the variety of psychological barriers that may directly delay or prevent a successful return to work.
When conducted concurrently with a return to work plan, KINNECT’s Adjustment to Injury Counselling can facilitate a timely and sustainable return to work by giving the employee proactive self-management techniques that they can use during the rehabilitation process and beyond.
KINNECT’s Adjustment to Injury Counselling sessions are tailored against the individual’s specific needs. The specific issues that can be addressed through adjustment to injury counselling include:
- Chronic pain
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Adjustment to change
- Difficulties in a person’s life
How it works
In the initial Adjustment to Injury Counselling session, an assessment of the presenting issues, symptoms and psychological history is made and specific assessment tools such as the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS21) may be administered.
The individual will then participate in up to five counselling sessions as recommended by the Registered Psychologist or Rehabilitation Counsellor. These sessions are structured to identify and address triggers for the thoughts, emotions and behaviours that impact on the person’s capacity to return to work. The personalised counselling plan may lead to a variety of topics, options and alternatives:
- Psychoeducation
- Strategies for coping
- Process of adapting
- Education on the rehabilitation process
- Stress management
- Emotion regulation
- Trauma processing
- Mindfulness skills
All adjustment to injury counselling sessions include the development of an individualised goal-orientated management plan to achieve a successful return to work. This plan is developed in a holistic manner that incorporates the following elements:
- The worker’s injury
- The worker’s symptoms
- The worker’s triggers / aggravating factors
- The worker’s pre-injury job role
- The worker’s return to work plan
- The workplace environment
- The worker’s support network
Benefits
Adjustment to Injury Counselling can help both the employee and employer.
This type of counselling is designed to assist an injured worker in overcoming the variety of difficulties often associated with complex return-to-work claims. Access to early intervention injury counselling outcomes empowers individuals with increased awareness and understanding of the psychological processes underlying the issues and barriers they face, and the capacity to take control and respond more effectively to change in their personal and working lives.
People’s lives outside of the workplace can significantly impact their mood and behaviours during work hours. For this reason, KINNECT’s Adjustment to Injury Counselling service includes identifying these difficulties and offering self-management strategies to assist. Adjustment to Injury Counselling teaches self-management strategies that are both practical and effective.
For employers, KINNECT Adjustment to Injury Counselling services result in a smoother and more sustainable recovery, which gets their workers back on site sooner to reduce the length of the current claim and prevent claims in the future.
FAQ
How long is each counselling session?
KINNECT’s adjustment to injury counselling consists of 1 x Initial session, followed by up to 5 x Subsequent sessions as recommended by the Counsellor or Psychologist. All counselling sessions are 60-minutes.
Who conducts Adjustment to Injury Counselling?
Adjustment to Injury Counselling is conducted by a KINNECT Psychologist who holds, at a minimum, provisional registration with The Pyschological Board of Australia, or a KINNECT Rehabilitation Counsellor who holds, at minimum, affiliate registration with the Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors.
Who can refer for Adjustment to Injury Counselling?
- Employers
- Supervisors
- Injury Management Co-ordinators
- Health and Safety Advisors
- General Practitioner
- Rehabilitation Consultants