Posted on: 4 March 2021
One of our CNWL teams has been featured in the national Chartered Society of Physiotherapy magazine (Frontline). It is an article about their wellbeing initiative they set up for their staff during Covid. They set up a Balint group after learning about it at the CNWL Therapies conference and it has been very successful. The team is the Community Independence Service (CIS) Kensington and Chelsea is led by Rebecca Gow who is a Physiotherapist and has Physios and OTs in it.
Balint group
Rebecca Gow, and her OT colleagues in the community independence service in Kensington and Chelsea, set up a ‘Balint’ group for staff working independently in the community. The isolating nature of community work means there is no outlet to discuss and reflect openly on feelings around patient interactions, so therapists often ‘take their feelings home.’ This is associated with the increased risk of burnout. Hour-long sessions every fortnight provide a safe space for clinicians to debrief and support each other. The team have made a video about their work which can be seen below.
There is no right way to approach burnout and mental resilience in the workplace. There is, however, an opportunity to plan long-term and create an organisational culture where wellbeing and coping strategies are a standard support feature.