In my last article, I looked at how personal problems impact on a workplace and on its profitability.
From an engineer’s viewpoint, we love to be able to find an answer or a solution or a fix to any sort of problem, and I talked about how Havening Techniques® could prove’ a useful tool to achieve that aim.
Here, I look at the practicalities of actually bringing therapy into the work environment of, perhaps, the most sceptical of beasts – the technical business leader!
Trust
The first issue to consider is, of course, building sufficient trust with the person I’m dealing with.
That’s a given for any business relationship, but it takes a great deal of care and consideration to allow a business owner or senior leader to open up and talk about personal matters that cause them pain.
And it’s also the first lesson to learn:
When a business is suffering from problems, regardless of whether that problem has a name, an identifiable cause, the business owner takes it personally and can find it almost as difficult to speak about as they would do for a health matter.
I respect that, and I would hope that between us we can quickly reach a zone of comfort and confidence.
Safe Space
The next issue to consider is a safe space.
When there’s good news to share, we usually don’t mind that other people get to hear. However, when there’s a challenging topic, or personal matters to discuss a quiet, uninterrupted and non-distracting place is better.
If I know there’s a difficult discussion coming, I try to ensure that we’re in a room or space that can’t be overheard, with minimal distractions and no interruptions.
In a recent session I had with a client, we managed to meet two of those, but throughout the session another team member did keep popping in with questions – not conducive to a calm, stable environment for some therapy.
In future, I’ll have to arrange to brief the staff, put a sign on the door and try to keep better focus.
Time
The third key point is being aware of time – both how much to allow, and how precious it is.
Havening is not necessarily a pre-planned series of sessions; often a client can experience an unexpected emotional release. which could move their journey on significantly; sometimes a client discovers there are hidden issues that they agree require further investigation. Sometimes we need to run longer or shorter than expected.
In the business environment, time is precious to needs to be used wisely, and planning a duration is necessary. I plan initially an hour but make it clear that this can have some flexibility, depending on progress.
The last thing I want for a client is for them to feel that they’re just a” case”. We do always finish with either guidance or a refresher showing them how to self-Haven.
That time preparation is also important in setting out the expectations.
“Maybe an hour” tends to fly in the face of what a client might expect from therapy with a course of, perhaps, 6 to 8 sessions anticipated with other therapies.
If Havening is the right approach, then it’s quite possible for a dramatic and rapid outcome.
Working with Groups
That’s all about individual therapy – what about dealing with groups?
Havening Techniques® is also good for helping to deal with low group confidence, positive attitude, team working and a general level of wellbeing.
In some industries there’s a significant macho culture and a tendency to dismiss “soft” skills as less important. However, what’s perhaps surprising, is the willingness of these clients to engage.
As an engineer by profession, I work predominantly with technical, construction and functionally-focused people, so the idea of just using talk, touch and thought doesn’t present a solid argument that lands well with this audience.
On the contrary, there is sound science and a number of well-regarded studies backing up the therapy, and when delivered by someone who speaks the same technical language it can make so much more sense to them.
But Havening doesn’t depend on a belief system. You can be as sceptical as you like, and it still works – you just need to give it attention.
For group work, and group coaching, I would plan to work with either a common frustration or a general boost in positive attitude or uncertainty about the future. Keeping personal traumas to individual sessions is sensible, but once a group has gained some trust that
- it does work, and
- it doesn’t change the facts,
they’re a lot more confident in asking for individual help.
As with individual sessions, we would always finish with some self-care skills to take home and practice for themselves.
Summary
So, bringing Havening Techniques into the workplace is a powerful, beneficial and rapid way to increase wellbeing.
However, to deliver, it requires a greater degree of planning to ensure a safe environment.
Even group sessions could be adversely disrupted by some who really don’t want to engage.
Although I’d be questioning just why are they so resistant?