The big G! And how to deal

By Julius Ita

Grief is a natural response to losing someone or something important to you.

This makes an individual undergo an array of emotions, for instance, anger, self-loathe, or loneliness.

You might experience it for several different reasons - the death of a loved one, ending a relationship, losing your job, property, or social status. Other life changes, like chronic illness or a move to a new home, can also lead to grief.

“If you don’t deal with grief quickly and in the right way, you will never recover,” says Ms. Nancy Mutahi a Counselling Psychologist at KNH Othaya. She goes on: “It gets worse for us health caregivers because we come across patients who could remind us of people we have lost and at that moment you react.” Ms. Norah Nyongesa also a Counselling Psychologist adds “Career loss is also a great contributor to grief. This is where, you are not practicing what you studied for, which could bring about loss of motivation, stress, and in the end, you have a grieving staff.”

Everyone grieves differently, but if you understand your emotions, take care of yourself, and seek support.

At KNH Othaya, through the collaboration of the Human Resources and the Counselling unit, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) was launched.

This is a forum that gives employees and their dependents a platform where they can get counseling services & support when need be.

“As much as this is recommended in an organization we felt the need of setting up this platform quickly for our staff because it doesn’t only deal with grief but the general mental wellness of an individual,” said Ms. Sylvia Nandwaa Human Resource Officer.

“We have instructed all heads of departments to make us aware of any person who would need this kind of support,” she added.

On their part, the counseling team pointed out the need for sensitization. This is because the stigma towards counselling among a majority of Africans is still rampant, where it is thought this is a white man’s thing or it’s a sign of weakness where one can’t handle his/her issues, this is true especially for men.

“We need to embrace Counselling as Africans because we are prone to anything and everything , irrespective of who you are or status,” said Ms. Nancy Mutahi. “Plus who says you need counseling only when you are grieving? It can also be when you want to be guided on something positive for instance, Marriage” added Ms’ Nancy.

Due to the set-up of health care service delivery, the environment can be a pressure cooker at times and if not taken into consideration, it can lead to a very unhealthy working environment due to grieving staff members.

As a way of creating awareness of the counseling services, the unit kick-started a parallel program to EAP at the hospital dubbed Staff Psychological debriefing which happens twice a week.

Every morning during handover sessions at the clinical units, the counseling team is there to listen to anything staff members have to say that they’d otherwise carry home.

“It doesn’t matter that you are a staff, counseling is counseling and at that moment you are my patient and I will handle you professionally,” said Ms. Norah.

“Through these sessions, we have witnessed change and positive response from staff who share a lot and open up on what they are going through”. Added Ms. Norah.

I was curious then to enquire how the unit handles all that which is downloaded on them, especially from colleagues and some close friends.

“Our training comes very in handy. We are highly trained and go through rigorous counseling and debriefing before you can be called a Counsellor, said Ms’Nancy Mutahi.

She added, “You can’t take a client further than you have gone, if you get such a case you refer them to your senior, because it’s a make or break situation when dealing with clients.”

PHOTO | STOCK