Case study 1A

Case Study Rightsteps Wellbeing is delivered by Turning Point, one of the UK’s largest health and social care organisations, with a proven track record in providing therapy services to those with mental health problems.

The Programme Rightsteps Wellbeing reduces the risk of absence among employees suffering from stress, depression and anxiety. It provides evidenced based, work focused interventions which are fast, cost effective and jointly meet the needs of both the employer and employee.

Our qualified Rightsteps Wellbeing Practitioners are trained in delivering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – a structured, solution orientated form of psychological intervention. CBT can help to identify and change negative patterns of thought (‘cognition’) and behaviour, building problem-solving and coping strategies.

Much more than a counselling service, Rightsteps Wellbeing is a proactive solution which strikes a balance between the needs of the employer and the employee. It begins from the principle that no two employees will need the same approach in making lifestyle changes and developing coping strategies which facilitate their return to work. Data is collected at every contact using suitable rating scales and progress measured through comprehensive pre- and post- treatment assessments. At the end of the six CBT sessions feedback is provided to the employer to assist with supporting the individual in work in the future.

Real Results Angela is a 30 year old married mum of 3 who works as a secondary school teacher. She recently returned to her job on a phased return following surgery on a back injury she sustained in a fall, but struggled physically and emotionally when teaching, especially when standing for long periods. Her back pain worsened after physical activity and especially when she was stressed. She considered herself to be independent and liked to be self sufficient rather than rely on others for help. To support this she had a part time weekend job working in a local business. She had a busy social life visiting friends and also found it important ‘to have a tidy house and provide' for her husband when he is working, alongside maintaining her own work demands, marking students work and preparing lessons in the evenings. Angela’s lifestyle had an emotional impact on her and she suffered from depression and anxiety as a result.

Angela was telephoned by a Therapist weekly at work to an extension in a private office. Her assessment identified several goals she wished to work upon. Following the assessment over the duration of the 6 weekly sessions Angela worked on her original goals and also identified new ones as our work together progressed.

Goals 1. To be able to cope with current situation – Angela worked on anxiety with her therapist including triggers that caused her anxiety and associated thinking patterns. She learned techniques during sessions to address her anxiety when discussing her concerns with her employer including negotiating a phased return to work. The worksheets used in sessions enabled Angela to continue her self help techniques long after the sessions were complete. Her therapist suggested that she may like to keep the allocated weekly session in her diary for her ‘self help’ sessions.

Case Study 2. To be more organised – by the end of the 6 sessions Angela was more aware of her own expectations of self and how these were affecting her health. Her Therapist taught her techniques on diarising challenging events through the week by breaking her days down into 30 minute units. She quickly learned to allocate units to tasks thus simplifying the overwhelming amount of work she had e.g. 4 units allocated to prepare a lesson. As a result Angela was better prepared for the start of the academic year as opposed to previous years.

3. Spend more time with children – Angela wanted to make the decision to terminate her part time weekend work and instead spend the time with her family doing leisure activities such as going to the cinema and swimming. Angela worked on her distorted thinking patterns with the therapist such as ‘Labelling’ e.g. thinking that she wouldn’t be successful if she didn’t earn a large enough salary from her two jobs. As a result she developed more positive thinking habits and left her part time job.

4. To be less demanding of herself – Using self esteem exercises Angela worked on her feelings with the therapist of being a failure and needing to do her best. This resulted in Angela being more comfortable relaxing at home instead of constantly being 'on the go' as she was prior to her sessions starting.

5. To lose weight – A programme to ‘manage chronic pain’ was prepared for Angela by her therapist based on the Rightsteps model. This was completed together over a number of sessions and included a thought diary, the impact of pain and activities that she could manage. As she was still experiencing some pain, Angela didn’t feel ready to return to the gym but had started swimming twice a week with her husband and children at the local swimming pool.

Summary After the 6 sessions were completed, Angela felt that she was coping better and was confident about her return to work. She explained that through the sessions with her Therapist that she had increased her confidence and had learned a ‘toolkit’ of exercises to hand to help her maintain her own psychological well being.

As part of the programme Angela had completed a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) and a General Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD7) together with the well being practitioner at her initial assessment, this was then repeated after the third session and again following the sixth and final session.

Angela’s progress had been very positive and her PHQ9 score had improved from an initial score indicating moderately severe depression to a score indicating no depression. Her entry GAD7 score indicated moderate anxiety and at exit her GAD7 score indicated no anxiety. Angela was able to complete a staged return to work as a result of engaging in the programme and is now equipped with coping strategies to maintain this position.

The Rightsteps® Wellbeing service has supported over 400 people in the last year. The successful outcomes of this service include 95% of clients having significant measurable reduction in their clinical scores for depression and anxiety.

“Thank you to Turning Point for all your hard work, the telephone support and workbooks were great and really helped” - Sarah, Peterborough For more information on the programme please contact Rightsteps Wellbeing Turning Point The Exchange, 3 New York St, Manchester, M1 4HN Tel: 0161 238 5100 M1 4HN