Mediation a good option for veteran emergency services workers

In counselling emergency service workers I have found many of the veterans of long careers feel caught in a time warp arising from massive changes in their fields over the past fifteen to twenty years.

It is common for these workers to lament times gone by when their service was run at a neighbourhood level - from the raising of funds to the dispatching of crews. They often recall feeling more supported by management who had more realistic expectations than they feel exist today.

Whilst skill levels, response times and outcomes may have improved, members of these services often report that they used to feel closer to their communities, more valued and more fulfilled in their work "in the old days" than they do now. Standards and practices have moved forward but with these changes has come inevitable depersonalization and workers often feel like little cogs in a big impersonal wheel.

The workers often blame "management" and a common cry is, "They didn't support me when I needed it and now I am on my own". Mediation before the situation becomes so critical could be the answer for some of these workers.

For others, counselling will be more effective. I often encourage these workers to liken their career experience to a successful relationship that has been mutually rewarding for a long time, but may have run its course. I help them consider all available options and look at other ways they might be able to utilise their skills and experience - perhaps even outside emergency services.

Denise Britton

Testing the Sustainability of Your Marriage

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/the-sustainable-marriage-quiz/?ref=taraparkerpope A study by Aron and Lewandowski in New Jersey has identified a process called "self-expansion" as a key to marital success. The research found that the more self expansion people can achieve with their partners, the more satisfying their relationships. To measure this factor in marriage Dr Lewandowski has developed a quiz which measures how much people's intimate relationships expand their knowledge of themselves and make them feel positive about themselves. Go to the article by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times to see the test for yourself

Shared Parenting Reforms

Take a look at latest research on outcomes of 2006 shared parenting reforms.

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