Intervention & Accommodation

Prevention & Crisis Response

Constantin's Story:
Substance abuse
I am responsible for how I respond

"As a child I experienced abandonment, bullying, and had terror instilled in me. Later in life, I coped with these feelings through alcohol and substance abuse. This abuse escalated and manifested itself through a failed marriage, a damaged career, an inability to take care of myself, and eventual suicidal impulses.

The turning point for me was finding the one thing that I was still able to do. For me, this one thing was acts of kindness. Through social workers, front line workers, and a 12-Step Program, I was able to start helping myself. It wasn't easy, but I was learning how to understand and change my behaviour through ways like exercise, meditation, and prayer. Things don't change overnight, but they get better every day. People don't influence whether I have a good or bad day - I am responsible for how I respond. There is hope. There are different ways for different people. There is something for everyone."

More from Constantin can be found in Working Through It

Knowing the best response in a time of crisis may not be part of the skill set of a business owner or manager. However, awareness, prevention and preparation for critical workplace situations can help prevent a prolonged crisis and assist with a successful return to a productive work environment.

The mental health of your employees can be significantly affected by the workplace response in times of crisis. This section helps you develop action plans and policies* to address the mental health factors involved in complex situations.

Leadership and Communication in Times of Crisis

• Be present. Be calm.
• Tell what you know.
• Tell what you don't know.
• Share what you are doing to find out.
• Share what you are doing about the crisis.
• Share strategies to manage the stress.
• Assure people you are on top of the situation.

* Please note that the following policies and prevention responses are provided as information about some of the factors that may impact mental health. As such they may not have been developed with respect to statutory compliance and should not be relied upon for this purpose.

Responding to Psychotic Episodes
Guidelines from Mental Health First Aid Canada.

Addiction
Approaches for creating substance-free workplaces.

Grief at Work
Clarifying expectations during a time of loss.

Suicide Intervention
Prevention and intervention approaches.

Workplace Violence
Approaches for addressing workplace violence, bullying and harassment.

Crisis Response Planning
Helping prepare in advance of crisis.

How can we maximize our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to respond to mental health-related issues?
EAPs can be a valuable resource for your employees, but they are not the answer to every personal, health or workplace issue. The Employee Assistance Society of North America generously prepared an objective and helpful outline so that you can consider where EAP may fit into your Prevention and Promotion strategy.

Resources

The following are links to resources that may be of interest to you. If you click on a link you may be entering a third-party website not maintained or controlled in any way by Great-West Life.