A new resilience-focused training program will be created by mindarma.com and the Black Dog Institute for the 4,300 employees of NSW Ambulance. The e-learning program aims to equip paramedics, call takers and other workers with a range of psychological skills which will boost their ability to bounce back from the many challenges experienced in their roles.
The new program follows on from a research trial, created for Fire & Rescue NSW. Closely involved with both projects, Associate Professor Sam Harvey from the UNSW Workplace Mental Health Team believes such translational research will be of great importance to tackling workplace mental health issues.
“While academics the world over have produced mounds of research papers, few have made the leap to creating products which can be easily taken up in different workplaces. Mindarma provides a real opportunity for organisations such as NSW Ambulance who wish to introduce a practical, preventative program, which teaches a number of evidence-based psychological skills,” says Harvey.
In addition to the e-learning program created for NSW Ambulance, a universal version of the Resilience At Work (Mindarma) mind coach program is currently in production.
Psychologist Sadhbh Joyce is leading the research trial with Fire & Rescue NSW as part of her PhD studies. She founded mindarma.com in order to bring important psychological skills to a far wider range of workers. “While emergency service workers experience many extremely challenging situations, preventing mental health injuries is something every workplace must take seriously. Whether people work at the top of an office block or at the bottom of a mine, they need to be equipped with effective coping strategies,” says Joyce.
mindarma.com is due to release its e-learning program this October.