Early Intervention Stress Assessments

Common contributing factors

In our experience, factors contributing to the duration of stress claims include:

• Failure to fully identify the key causal factors of symptom development.
• Postponement of intervention that often occurs with disputing the claim.
• Stakeholder commitment; including supervisors and managers, who may not be financially accountable for the costs of the claim and/ or do not respond to attempts to facilitate return to work or conflict resolution.

Our approach

An Early Stress Intervention Assessment:

• Identifies the full range of causal factors from an individual and organisational basis.
• Integrates all the information of key stakeholders to identify potential barriers to return to work so that appropriate treatment and return to work strategies can be developed.
• May include appropriate psychometric measures of cognitive functioning (i.e. ability to concentrate, coping skills, mood vulnerabilities etc.) which can be examined in the context of the reported psychological symptoms.
• Provides clear recommendations from an individual and organisational basis.

Service delivery model

1. Individual Assessment
   An in-depth interview is conducted to gather a wide variety of information, including: history of the claim; attitude and RTW orientation of the employer; complexity of the illness, nature of the work environment; status of associated HR, OR or legal matters.
   
2. Consultation
   All key stakeholders are engaged.
   
3. Report
   A comprehensive assessment report is completed, outlining barriers to return to work, and clearly documented individual and organisational recommendations.
   
4. Case Conference
   A meeting is held to review the report recommendations and develop the return to work plan. The case conference may include the following parties: the injured employee, employer representatives that can make decisions in relation to the return to work options, union representatives, reviewing consultant, treating specialist, and the injury management consultant.
   
5. Return to Work Plan
   A return to work plan is documented at the completion of the case conference and includes any necessary intervention such as occupational rehabilitation, mediation, management coaching, skill development etc. It will also outline each party’s contributing role in achieving the goal, and the timeframes and process for reviewing the actions.
   
6. Support
   The return to work plan is managed by the employer. Support from ResolutionsRTK can be provided on an ongoing basis where required.