Immediate Support with Traumatic Experiences
Employees who suffer a traumatic experience at work should receive immediate support, demand DEKRA experts. In the context of the occupational health management, they recommend the establishment of an emergency psychological service.
With the digital DearEmployee process DEKRA offers an innovative tool for psychological risk assessment. Photo: iStock – nullplus
If victims of occupational accidents or crime make use of an emergency psychological service at an early stage, this is a great help to ensure that they are not thrown off the track.
“Attacks and accidents in the workplace can cause deep psychological wounds – whether you were the victim, whether you caused the accident or whether you were a witness,” says Dr. Karin Müller, head of People & Health at DEKRA. “Long-term psychological issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder occur in around 20 to 30 percent of those affected if no expert help is provided,” says the psychologist.
Traumatic Experience: Emergency Psychologists Support Victims
Immediately after a psychologically stressful event, people may exhibit a range of symptoms including flashbacks, sleep disorders, nightmares, helplessness, self-doubt, fear of failure, mood swings or increased consumption of alcohol or tobacco. Emergency psychologists ideally support the victims to ease these stress reactions. They should accompany them on their further way in case the symptoms still occur after several days. If the symptoms do not subside after two weeks, follow-up treatment should be arranged.
Certain occupational groups such as healthcare professionals, rescue workers, law enforcement officers, security guards, checkout staff, staff in social security offices as well as machine operators and professional drivers are at higher risk of suffering traumatic events. For these kind of jobs, an emergency psychological service as part of an occupational health management is recommended.
DEKRA supports employers throughout Germany in this. Moreover, with the digital DearEmployee process DEKRA offers an innovative tool for psychological risk assessment.
What a Showstopper!
As a theater professional, Felix Malkowski likes to take a leading role on stage. Yet he does not expect applause from the stands and stalls. His role is to ensure the safety of the event technology – and the DEKRA expert tends to take over the entire theater to do so. He is currently on duty at the Munich Kammerspiele.
