The value of psychological wellbeing workshops

We are very proud of the work our career and volunteer firefighters do every day to protect life, property and our environment – often in challenging circumstances.

We recognise that responding to emergencies can be as psychologically demanding as it is physically. Our psychological wellbeing workshops have been developed by Safety, Health and Wellbeing to help you identify ways you can take care of your own wellbeing, and recognise and support the wellbeing of your teams and colleagues.

Our psychological wellbing workshops focus on five key learning sessions:

• exploring the context we work in and the importance of looking after ourselves,
• a summary of our wellbeing support services and where to access them,
• recognising how to look after others,
• building a climate of wellbeing,
• and finally, how to bring it all together in a personal action plan.

These practical workshops help identify one's wellbeing and help build an understanding of how to recognise signs within yourself and others - that it might be time to seek support.

We strongly encourage all personnel to take the opportunity to attend a psychological wellbeing workshop. These information-packed sessions provide valuable advice for our people no matter what their role is. This includes resource material to keep, outlining the wide range of support services available for you and your colleagues.

For these workshops to be successful, we require Area/District representatives to be nominated to assist the Project Coordinator in planning and arranging workshops:

• Nominate a contact for coordinating the Psychological Wellbeing Workshops in each Area/District. Email Lisa.Grant2@fireandemergency.nz with the contact name, and the Area/District they represent.
• Be prepared to assist the Project Coordinator in planning and arranging your Area/District workshops.