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Writer's pictureAmélie Degorce

Psychological distress at work. If only there was a solution!

Suffering at work eventually wears out. If you are one of the people affected by psychological distress at work, this article could help you find the energy and strength to recover. Like many, after experiencing my share of overload and work stress, I decided to help others. I share in this article how and why my team and I are involved in relieving those suffering at work. Below, you will find precise information about our personalized support designed to help you snap out of this torpor, which can be so suffering. Also, I don’t want you to pay a penny to access our services. That’s why I’m calling on your employer in this blog. The smartest of them are looking for ways to reduce stress in the workplace and improve working conditions and well-being at work. Some, for economic reasons, want to reduce absenteeism and presenteeism. That’s okay, we don’t discriminate on the reasons.

However, a major problem exists among several employers. They are looking for specialized resources to help those who brave stigmas to talk about their personal ill-being or burnout. Despite their good intentions, they find very few specialized resources to directly and quickly take charge of the people concerned. Frankly, most small and medium-sized businesses don’t have a lot of resources to turn to organizational health prevention either. In recent years, the supply of primary prevention such as: developing good lifestyles, assessing risks and stressors, work organization, and mental health protective factors in the workplace, has been widely reported, but few companies take action! However, taking action in this direction has real benefits.


In addition, helping people affected in their psychological integrity and presenting depressive and/or anxious symptoms in the workplace, challenges more than one. When employers cross our path, many of them ask us: “Can you do something to help us with our people in psychological distress at work? "

Our answer is: Yes, we can handle your cases quickly.


Here is part of our argument:

For many years, major disability insurers have entrusted us with the task of supporting people with mental health problems caused by professional or personal risk factors. We support people who have suffered from stress. They have exhausted themselves under the weight of excessive workload, or for other reasons. They’ve had burn-outs, depression, and all kinds of other mental health issues. We support them and they go back to work.


In several workplaces, we see signs of exhaustion in work teams. For us, the time has come to act to prevent more serious diagnoses.


If we can help people who are off work with diagnosed mental health problems, we can do so with those who are experiencing psychological distress at work.


To do this, we bring in our specialists, such as:

  • Social workers

  • Mental health occupational therapists

  • Mental health practitioners from a variety of fields including psychology, criminology and psychoeducation

Our solution to psychological distress at work is personalized support.


Here are the steps of the process:

  1. When a problem is reported, a first meeting is immediately held with one of our mental health coaches to see what is wrong.

  2. Then the coach will take some time to think about your situation. But don’t worry, it will be quick. With your permission, he will be able to speak with your manager to alleviate an excessive workload and propose actions in prevention of occupational risks.

  3. When you see the coach again, he will share his reading of the situation with you and will already have an action plan to discuss with you. This will include improving working conditions, preventing stress at work, and also preventing stress in your personal life.

  4. By mutual agreement, you will both establish the objectives pursued.

  5. Depending on the case and the proposed actions, weekly meetings will be held to support you, answer your questions, and take stock of the evolution of the approach.

  6. Adjustments to the plan can be made on an ongoing basis to adjust to the evolution of the approach.

  7. If your situation requires it, the coach can help you find other resources (psychologist, doctor, coach, etc.).

  8. Your coach will be always available to support you in achieving your goals.

The personalized support will continue until your psychological exhaustion is a thing of the past, and until you have found your professional and personal life back.


Examples of what can be found in an action plan include:

  • Learning how to manage stress

  • Increasing your energy

  • Structuring your days

  • Working on a better family organization

  • Identifying fun activities that can help you regain your joie de vivre and motivation to get involved

  • Working on self-confidence and self-esteem

  • Increasing your cognitive abilities

  • Finding back a restorative sleep

  • Discussing work organization with your manager

If you have been showing some of the following signs for more than 2 weeks, you are most likely experiencing psychological distress at work.

  • Frequent absences and delays

  • Decreased productivity

  • Increased errors, decreased quality of work, increased workload

  • Difficulty concentrating and remembering

  • Fatigue complaints, feeling strenuous

  • Neglected body appearance and/or care

  • Impatience, increased and unusual irritability

  • Crying

  • Isolation

  • Interpersonal problems

If you recognize yourself, it’s time to ask for help. If you’re an employer, you can be part of the solution.


For details on our services to employers, follow this link.


Amélie (the head coach)

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