The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) recently hosted a Zoom based activity for public officers and their family members under the theme “Resilient Grieving – How to Cope with Grief and Loss”
Death and loss during the Covid-19 pandemic have made life even more challenging for many. The emotional distress associated with death and loss often makes it difficult for people to manage following such an experience.
The Employee Assistance Programme Unit (EAP) recognized those challenges and was keen on providing the needed support to public officers and their family members. “Grief is unexplainable to the one experiencing it, it is inconceivably painful and heart-wrenching. Resilient grieving is about the process of taking active measures and steps to find strength and learn coping mechanisms amidst the unbearable pain. Despite the loss, it is necessary to be proactive in the process, allow yourself to cry and grieve whilst examining your coping methods. We want people to know that there are ways to navigate, and this is essentially what this presentation is about” said Mrs. Sacha Jn Pierre-James, the Acting Manager of the EAP.
The presentation which aimed to provide valuable information on how to cope with various types of losses and the grief that is associated with them was held on March 30th via the zoom platform.
The Employee Assistance Programme was launched within the Department of the Public Service in March 2016, as a work-based solution-oriented intervention program to assist employees in identifying challenges and developing constructive action plans and strategies to deal with work and personal life. The EAP provides each public officer with up to six free counseling sessions facilitated by highly trained professionals.