Anxiety therapists can play a crucial role in supporting both employees and the organisation by addressing workplace anxiety. They employ various tools, techniques, strategies and approaches tailored to the specific needs of the workplace.
Tools, Techniques, Strategies and Approaches Used by Anxiety Therapists
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT):
- What’s Involved: SFBT focuses on increasing positive emotions and identifying existing strengths and resources to help clients make their lives better. It involves techniques such as eliciting questions (“What would you like to see instead of the problem?”), asking detailed questions (“What exactly did you do differently?”), and offering verbal rewards and competence questions (“How did you manage to come here today?”).
- Likely Benefits: SFBT can be used as a monotherapy or in combination with problem-focused therapy. It is valuable due to its attention to goal formulation and tapping into the client’s competencies. For the organisation, this can lead to a more motivated and productive workforce. For the employee, it offers tools to manage anxiety and improve their overall well-being.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT):
- What’s Involved: ACT aims to help individuals accept their anxious thoughts and feelings rather than struggling against them. It involves mindfulness exercises to foster a non-evaluative approach toward experiences, helping clients experience their evaluations, thoughts, and memories fully. ACT also emphasizes clarifying values and committing to actions aligned with those values, even in the presence of anxiety.
- Likely Benefits: ACT can help employees reduce the impact of anxiety on their behaviour. It allows them to focus on what truly matters in their lives and careers. For the organisation, this can result in a more engaged and resilient workforce. ACT therapists in the workplace can foster an environment where employees are better equipped to handle stress and anxiety.
- Mindfulness Practices:
- What’s Involved: Mindfulness involves grounding oneself and staying present in the moment, focusing on the task at hand rather than anxious thoughts. It includes exercises such as mindful breathing and body scan meditations, which help individuals observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment.
- Likely Benefits: Mindfulness can improve focus, reduce stress, and enhance emotional regulation. For employees, this means better concentration and productivity, as well as improved well-being. Organisations benefit from a more present and less distracted workforce.
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP):
- What’s Involved: NLP techniques use structured terminology, body movements, and imagery to achieve specific objectives, such as improving confidence and managing anxiety triggers. Adaptive NLP techniques help individuals understand their anxiety intimately and find ways to handle symptoms, rather than avoiding or masking them.
- Likely Benefits: NLP can help employees reframe their thinking and behaviours, leading to increased confidence and better performance. For the organisation, this results in a more adaptable and effective workforce.
- Havening Techniques:
- What’s Involved: Havening is a set of methods designed to help manage trauma and anxiety. It involves self-soothing touch and can induce a hypnotic, freely-associating state where clients feel in control.
- Likely Benefits: Havening can be self-administered, making it a practical tool for employees to manage stress and past events. For anxiety therapists, it offers a tool to relieve suffering and promote self-care among employees, which can reduce stress-related issues within the organisation.
- Emotional Awareness and Regulation:
- What’s Involved: This involves recognising and understanding one’s own emotions and those of others, as well as developing skills to manage and regulate these emotions effectively. This includes practices such as listening to one’s emotions, paying attention to the emotions of colleagues, and developing shared communication practices.
- Likely Benefits: Enhanced emotional awareness and regulation can lead to better interpersonal relationships, reduced conflict, and improved teamwork. For the organisation, this creates a more supportive and empathetic work environment, reducing overall stress and anxiety levels. For employees, it provides tools to manage their emotional responses and build resilience.
- Values Clarification:
- What’s Involved: Clarifying personal values and aligning behaviour with those values helps individuals act as a guide for their behaviour, not their anxiety.
- Likely Benefits: Employees are better equipped to make decisions and take actions that are consistent with what truly matters to them, reducing the influence of anxiety on their choices. For the organisation, this can translate into a more authentic and engaged workforce.
- Workplace Accommodations:
- What’s Involved: Anxiety therapists can advise on reasonable adjustments in the workplace to support employees with anxiety. This may include providing a quieter workspace, allowing flexible working hours, or offering additional training.
- Likely Benefits: These accommodations can help employees manage their anxiety more effectively and improve their productivity. For the organisation, this can lead to increased employee satisfaction and reduced absenteeism.
Summary: Anxiety therapists in the workplace use a range of tools and techniques, including SFBT, ACT, mindfulness, NLP, Havening, and emotional awareness practices. These approaches benefit both employees, by improving their well-being and performance, and the organisation, by creating a more supportive, productive, and resilient work environment.
Tags: anxiety, workplace, therapy, SFBT, ACT, mindfulness, NLP, Havening, emotional awareness, workplace accommodations.