No organisation is immune from the risk of a traumatic or stressful event, and the impact of a critical incident event can be widespread and long-lasting. PeopleSense provides comprehensive critical incident response services across Australia, ensuring organisations have immediate access to professional support for affected employees. Our critical incident response services ensure that employees receive the necessary support promptly and effectively.

Immediate Response and Onsite Attendance

PeopleSense has experienced clinicians available to respond onsite or via telehealth to critical incidents anywhere in Australia. We are committed to providing support early to reduce the risk of psychological injuries that can occur immediately following or long-after after the incident.

Early intervention with professional service providers can reduce the risk of long-term negative effects. Our experienced psychologists provide support in the hours, days and weeks after they arrive onsite.

Support for employees after critical incidents

Incidents that we are called to support include:

• Natural disaster

• Grief and loss

• Assault or violence in the workplace

• Serious near-miss or major safety issue

• Traumatic injury

• Workplace fatality

• Significant organisational issues

• Significant organisational changes or restructures, including large scale redundancies.

Following a critical incident, our practice is to provide group psychoeducation to affected individuals which includes providing information around common reactions to trauma, normalising the trauma response process, and helping people return to their normal routine as soon as possible.

Screening for trauma as part of a Critical Incident Response is important, as this:

• Prevents misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment planning.

• Can prevent further difficulties developing such as challenges in relationships, career and other aspects of life.

• Our team of psychologists:

• Are experienced and empathetic.

• Are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across Australia.

• Provide the support needed to help employees deal with emotional responses to critical incidents.

• Can ensure Psychological First Aid support is followed through with welfare checks and ongoing support services as required.

Follow-up Psychological Support and Counselling Services

Some employees involved in a critical incident may need more support than an initial visit to site or welfare check. One-on-one appointments with a psychologist can assist in their recovery and return to work after the incident. Appointments can be attended in one of our offices or via telehealth, whichever is more convenient.

For some employees, one follow-up session is enough while others will need multiple sessions over months. Everyone’s recovery is different, so we ensure a tailored follow-up program is available.

Our clinicians:

• Offer support to help employees understand emotional responses they may be experiencing following a critical incident.

• Are skilled in building resilience and supporting emotional wellbeing.

• Are empathetic and experienced in providing psychological counselling and therapy services. Our clinicians have experience in supporting people with a full range of mental health issues using evidence-based interventions.

• Work proactively with employees to understand contextual factors and gain greater insight into variables that could be contributing to presenting problems. We also work collaboratively with other treating professionals to mitigate distress and improve overall levels of functioning.