Women Returning to Work

After a break from work from between 1-5 years, entering the work-place again can sometimes be a daunting proposition.

There are areas which CBT psycho-education is effective in helping to prepare for a return to the professional arena.

Improving self-esteem

Often clients feel that the rigours of child-rearing and homemaking have left them somewhat isolated from the mainstream social/professional life they have left and have undermined their sense of what society equates with worth. CBT provides a specific program that addresses these needs.

Improving social/communication skills

Being able to understand and use CBT in the workplace gives women a distinct advantage in problem solving and understanding the specific emotional, and training needs of their staff.

C.V. writing and career planning

Diagnostic tests for psychologically profiling personality are used to refine the career profile and to help (when necessary) to prepare for retraining for a new career or updating of skills within the same professional area. Expertise in this area uses all the state of the art techniques for CV, presentation skills, and preparation for the interview.

Assessment of personality type

Assessment of personality type and the desire for a career change may require a programme of learning how to learn, addressing study skills, performance anxiety, and or/test anxiety.

Anxiety/Depression

After a battery of CBT diagnostic tests an individualised programme is developed using standard CBT to bring the symptoms associated with depression into the more normative range. Clients then work with negative automatic thoughts about themselves, the world and the future, to identify, challenge and then substitute negative cognitions with more balanced alternatives.

Reattribution of Meaning

Meaning and acceptance work in CBT are essential to reframe the transitional phase after a life changing event. Clients feel that their stage of life has changed by the rigours of parenting, and their perception of work is very different than before their leave of absence.

The nature and the purpose of work, and the juggling of many different roles (mother, wife, job, housekeeper etc.) make the flexibility of their time-management and the ability to organise these responsibilities essential. Clients often feel that they want a role that reflects this new balance and CBT recognises this need for redefining their needs and making this transition as seamless as possible.