Jane

As sometimes happens when you supervise a depressed person, Jane found herself in a difficult position. In her efforts to deal with her employee, she became friend, parent figure, and confidante. Unfortunately, none of this helped get the work done. When she suggested he see an employee counselor, he refused, stating he could solve his own problems. Time did not prove this to be true and eventuality feeling angry, protective, sympathetic and stressed by turns, Jane sought advice herself.

During several sessions, the EAP counselor helped Jane sort out her emotions and responsibilities from those of her employee. The counselor explained the implications of depression and explored with her the limitations and options she had as a supervisor. Jane convinced that she could best help her employee that he needed help by clearly demonstrating, through careful recordkeeping, that his work performance had deteriorated.

Jane found the chore of documenting her employee’ s performance annoying and time consuming. However, as she began to write down what was really happening each day, and sharing her observations with him, the situation became clearer to him as well as to her. He realized that he was not pulling his weight, and she recognized that she was not helping him get well by protecting him. Jane suggested that he come to a counseling session with her. He refused. She then pointed out that she would have no other choice but to take personnel action against him. He then agreed to visit the counselor with her.

Much to his surprise, he found the visit helpful and set up his own future appointments. After several visits, the counselor referred him to a psychiatrist for a complete diagnostic evaluation and then collaborated with the psychiatrist in working out a treatment regime: the psychiatrist prescribed an antidepressant medication and the counselor provided psychotherapy.

He continued to see the counselor regularly for several months and then on an as-needed basis. Within a few months, he was off mediation. His symptoms had abated, his work performance had improved dramatically, and he felt much better about himself. He now understands that his lack of energy and inability to concentrate were not personal defects, but rather due to his illness. He told Jane that in the future if the symptoms recur, he will seek help immediately.

While employee assistance programs are being widely adopted by large companies and government agencies, owners of small businesses who cannot afford their own EAPs can help troubled employees through other mechanisms. They can provide their employees with medical insurance that offers the best available coverage of mental health and substance abuse problems. They also may offer a depressed employee temporary flexible hours or a less demanding job until the symptoms of depression are alleviated. They can provide reassurance and reinforcement for those jobs that are well done or show improvement.

Perhaps most important, employers can encourage and, in fact, pressure employees to seek treatment. It is usually in the employer’s interest to help depressed employees get appropriate treatment, for it is rarely cost effective to tram a new person or to replace an experienced worker whose performance is temporarily not up to muff. Helping the depressed employee pays off.

In Brief

Ways To Help a Depressed Person

 
• Recognize the symptoms.  
• Convince the depressed person to get treatment or, in the case of a depressed child or adolescent, help the youngster get treatment.  
• Tell the depressed person that he or she is loved, deserves to feel better, and will feel better with appropriate  
• Recommend helping resources.  
• If the depressed person is not functioning, accompany him or her to treatment until normal function returns.  
• If the depressed person is too young or ill to provide needed information to the therapist, act as a go-between as long as needed.  
• If the depressed person is suicidal or having hallucinations or delusions, arrange for hospitalization.  
• If the depressed person is functional and refuses treatment, seek the assistance of others-friends, doctor, clergy, relatives-who might convince him or her that treatment is needed and will help.  
• Don’t give up too soon-the depressed person may have to hear more than once and from several people that he or she deserves to feel better and can, with proper treatment

If all efforts to encourage the depressed person to seek treatment have failed, and the depressed person is having a demoralizing impact on those around, further action is needed:

 
• A supervisor might threaten personnel action unless the depressed employee gets treatment  
• A spouse, with the assistance of a mental health specialist, can explore separation from the depressed husband or wife who refuses treatment.  
• Parents of a depressed adult can clarify, with the help of a mental health specialist, how much assistance to give their depressed offspring.  
• Children, other relatives, friends, or doctors of a depressed older person can assist him or her to get help from a mental health specialist who has geriatric experience and who may be willing to reach out to the older person by telephone and home visits.

It isn’t always easy to help the depressed person get treatment, but it can be done, and helping can make you both feel better.