When we first started our Wellbalance intervention programs they were born out of a need that came across my desk in 2008. I wish I could tell you that I had the vision of Steve Jobs and I planned all of this from the beginning. Unfortunately no. As a clinician, I had a number of friends/acquaintances who understood my skill set, reached out to me and asked for help and support for employees in their workplaces. After my initial realisation that there was a genuine need for mental health intervention in the workplace, there came a realisation that many other factors within the workplace had a direct impact on individual mental health outcomes. There is now a popular term to describe this – Job Design or Work Design. At that time I didn’t have that language, but I knew that I needed to work with employers as well, toward mitigating some of the factors that were having a negative impact on their staff.
So, I was reaching beyond the realm of individual mental health and becoming more involved in other workplace challenges. I was using my communication skills to intervene in conflict, but felt that I wanted an extra qualification to support me with the framework to intervene effectively in this. In 2012 I enrolled and completed a course to become an accredited mediator with IAMA (Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australasia) which has now been incorporated into The Resolution Institute (a reputable and high quality course I would highly recommend).
However, no sooner had I completed this course, passed the exam and started offering workplace mediation services further afield, than I had the next realisation….. to minimise damage from a workplace conflict you need to intervene as early as possible, ideally before mediation. I was and still am a good mediator, but my advice to you would be this: If you can intervene and resolve a conflict before the parties have had the chance to take to their corner of the ring and start working on their strategy for victory; then you will be winning. When it comes to workplace conflict, there is a direct correlation between early intervention and best outcomes.
Throughout the following years of working in a number of workplaces, providing individual consults and support to management, the Wellbalance model was evolving. I was being equipped with more qualifications, more experience and more evidence, and was beginning to consolidate a deep and organic understanding of the crucial nature of workplace psychological health and safety.
I worked part time building my knowledge of workplace wellbeing whilst doing the most important job of my life – raising my children. In 2017 I began moving into full-time self employment and started the business named “Wellbalance”. I have also been fortunate since then, to have a casual role lecturing in the Social Work masters degree at LaTrobe university. This has been such a complimentary role to my business – it has kept me up to date with clinical best practice AND I have had the fortune of coming into contact with some excellent clinicians whom I now work alongside, implementing our Wellbalance model.
In this video I explain a bit about our signature solution “The Enhanced Workplace”. There has been years of anecdotal and research evidence go into developing this. Those of you who know me know that language is important to me. The language used within and to describe this model is meaningful and intentional. I cannot explain it all in a short blog or video. However, hopefully you understand; this is our passion; this is our expertise; we understand what we do from a long history of genuine engagement and success.
Ofcourse I can talk you through our signature solution in detail. Click one of the multiple links to book a call, or reach out via email and I’d be happy to chat with you.
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