May 2002 Volume 83 Number 5 "serving the protectors"
By Trevor Haskell PASA Vice President

Can a leopard change its spots?

The issue of change often needs to be addressed in relationship counselling. Frequently addressed are questions about whether people can change or have changed; whether things have changed, or one or both want something to change.

The capacity for change is almost self-evident. People are maturing and changing through ageing processes and environmental reactions. The cognitive approach to counselling will use the capacity for people to change as a critical discussion point. Behaviour can be modified relatively simply, and those who have parented children would have experienced better or worse attempts to change behaviour. However, the mindset behind behaviour can be more problematic.

In cognitive counselling, the area of change considered is not the behaviour (a symptom) but the beliefs that create a feeling that evokes a response that might be thoughtful, habitual (non-thinking) or even irrational. Time is spent discussing the histories of the people we see so as to enable them to identify their system of values and their beliefs of life that underpin those values. All of us have a myriad of beliefs that help us in our actions and reactions to life events. Some of these beliefs are rational and helpful and others are irrational and less helpful.

People become patterned in their behaviours and often respond or act out of habit rather than thoughtful and owned response. Statements such as: “He made me feel worthless”, or “She made me angry”, are not accepted in counselling. We work back from the behaviour they exhibited to what thoughts they had prior to the behaviour and, then, what feelings preceded their thoughts. Often the case is that people move from the feeling stage to the action stage without any thought. The reactive behaviour has become routine.

Cognitive counselling endeavours to work the process back into one of thoughtfulness: a process where we own our feelings, thoughts and actions. Nothing makes us do something – we make choices.

On this premise we are all able to change our beliefs which impacts on how and what we feel, think and, certainly, how we behave.

The book A Guide to Rational Living, by Albert Ellis and Robert Harper, provides interesting reading for those who seek to consider the beliefs that underpin their lives and create an opportunity to change.

Welfare on the move

The view from the first floor at Flinders St lacks the leafy surrounds of Dulwich, but the accommodation is pretty good. Yes, the Welfare office and Chaplaincy are now to be found on the first floor, north wing, police headquarters (immediately adjacent to the Medical Section). Psychology Section is to follow at a date to be advised.

The merger of Psychology, Welfare and Chaplaincy into the Employee Assistance Section (EAS) will see the three entities still operating under their “functional” identity. Thus, matters of a general nature will be referred to the Employee Assistance Section without line supervisors or managers trying to work out the unit to which matters should be referred. Issues that have a known functional responsibility will still be directed to that area. For example, if there are questions about recruit psychological testing, the person involved will be encouraged to deal directly through the administrative assistant to Psychology.

All employees have access to the EAS services. The general functions remain unchanged and include:
• General counselling relative to workplace or personal issues.
• Relationship counselling.
• Psychological assistance.
• Psychological assessment.
• Spiritual support and counselling.
• Mediation and conflict management assistance.
• Training for individuals and groups on lifestyle issues, traumatization, conflict management, psychological issues.

The accommodation provides employees with direct and relatively private access. Those who may have concerns about the headquarters building can arrange to be seen at alternative venues.

EAS (Welfare and Chaplaincy) internal post code 58. Employee Assistance Section, Welfare reception: Ph: 82042153. Fax: 82042086.

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