Balance Counselling and Coaching Ltd
WHY I BECAME A There were two really key moments in my life that led me to train to become a counsellor.
T
he first time was fairly early on in my career when a very popular member of my team began to suffer from depression and was having suicidal thoughts. I worked with the HR team at the time and we provided internal support via regular meetings with the individual and also by ensuring that they received professional support from a therapist and support team.
What if I had added in another 1-1 on Friday, could I have changed things, could I have made a difference? It took many months for me to come to terms with what had happened and acknowledge that I/ the business had done what we could to support in providing professional aid and working with them supporting them in the workplace. Even though I came to accept what had happened it was always something I reflected on when other individuals in my life both professionally or personally talked to me about how they were feeling.
Sadly, despite all the support that was provided, after some bad news the individual received, they felt that they couldn’t cope with it at the time and sadly they decided and succeeded in taking their own life. The death happened over a weekend and whilst covering a shift on a Sunday, inevitably the rumours started that the individual had committed suicide, with no senior support or HR team available at the time, I made a decision to bring my team back into the office, (we worked in a warehouse spread across three old mills and comprising of approx. 12 different floors) and briefed them of the possibility of their colleague’s death. I had to repeat the information on the following Monday for every member of the team but this time I was confirming their death. The next few months were difficult times in supporting his colleagues and ensuring they had the emotional support they needed at that sad time. It also impacted me in terms of the constant thoughts of what if? What if I had done something differently?
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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
Moving on…. Several years later and I was working for a different company in a progressively senior role and having noticed a change in the behaviour of one member of the team. I asked them if they were they ok. They opened up and talked to me about their personal issues and struggles with depression. They were having suicidal thoughts and struggling to cope with things like getting out of bed, coming to work, doing anything really.
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