INTHEBLACK October 2021 - Magazine - Page 26
F E AT U R E
// M E N TA L H E A LT H F I R S T A I D
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BusinessBalance initiative and delivered by Deakin
University in partnership with organisations including
CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and
New Zealand and the Institute of Public Accountants.
Professor Andrew Noblet, director of research
in the department of management with Deakin
University’s faculty of business and law, says mental
health first aid training provided in the course helps
participants to identify early signs of distress and to
prevent an escalation.
“The feedback that we’d received from the
accounting bodies was that business advisers often feel
nervous about what to say when they suspect that their
client is becoming overwhelmed or showing signs that
they are struggling,” he says. “They can be worried that
they’ll say something that makes it worse.”
Karen Conlon FCPA, principal at SumTotal
Accounting and Business in South Australia,
“BUSINESS ADVISERS OFTEN FEEL NERVOUS ABOUT
WHAT TO SAY WHEN THEY SUSPECT THAT THEIR
CLIENT IS BECOMING OVERWHELMED OR SHOWING
SIGNS THAT THEY ARE STRUGGLING. THEY CAN BE
WORRIED THAT THEY’LL SAY SOMETHING THAT
MAKES IT WORSE.”
PROFESSOR ANDREW NOBLET, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY
26 ITB October 2021
completed the Counting on U program earlier this
year and says it has made her “feel more comfortable
in asking some questions and providing support”.
“Accountants are seen as the trusted advisers, and so
we have conversations with clients that are not purely
around the financial viability of a business,” she says.
“We talk about their families and other aspects of
their life.
“I have a client whose family member has anorexia,
and this is having a huge flow-on effect on the
family,” adds Conlon. “I could see that my client
was struggling and, after doing the course, I had the
confidence to ask some questions about how she was
feeling, listen to her story and then talk to her about
groups that could support her.”
ON-SITE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
If there is one silver lining to the COVID-19 crisis, it
is the shift in attitude towards mental health. While
every modern office has a trained fire warden and a
first aid officer, more businesses are adding another
designated person to the team – a mental health first
aid officer.
Rachel Clements, director of psychological services
at the Centre for Corporate Health, says she’s never
seen “so much openness” about mental heath.
“Prior to COVID-19, few people were willing to
disclose mental health challenges, but then the culture
just rapidly shifted overnight,” she says.
“It really put people on a level playing field. I think
the organisations that were perhaps considering doing