Q/A Session Oct 2024: How do we encourage people to participate in contingency planning?
Question: How do we encourage people to participate in contingency planning and share those future events that might impact their well-being when coming forward has already been a big step?
Answer: Asking about foreseeable changes can be challenging - when someone is already in a great deal of pain, asking them to think about two specific future events that, if they happened, would make things work can seem counterintuitive. Here are some approaches to try:
First, Thank the person for coming forward and for trusting you with what they are experiencing. Validate that it can be difficult and takes courage to share what they have.
Second, when asking about foreseeable changes, let them know the why first. Be transparent and explain that it will help planning so it becomes an empowering preparatory conversation.
Acknowledge that thinking about potential problems can be difficult, but explain that thinking ahead about future events that could make things worse allows them to be planned for proactively.
For example, you might say:
"Now I want to work with you to make some plans you can rely on to keep safe and feel better, especially if you start feeling worse. People often make the best, most realistic, and specific plans when they imagine planning for a specific event that could happen in the future - it makes it more real...
So let’s think together about a couple of events that could be really big “oh no” moments. Remember - when we get the two down, we’ll plan to help you through those events.
- Something that might make you feel overwhelmed or suicidal.
- What specific change or event could make you feel out of control, alone, or embarrassed?
- I know this might be something you don’t want to think about, but it’s important.
- Could we get even more specific? Could you help me get a movie in my head about what could happen?
If they can’t identify and foreseeable changes with this open-ended approach, try referencing past experiences. For example, "When I work with people and their families to identify these things, we sometimes look at past times when things have been hard. Can we think of some things that have made things harder for you before?"
If that doesn’t work, you can offer suggestions based on your understanding of them and utilise the team you work with or the person's support network (family, friends, command, coworkers) to identify potential foreseeable changes.
Another way to explore foreseeable changes is to ask them what a friend, family member, or partner would say about an event they should be ready for. It would be even better if the person let that support person be directly involved in the conversation and share their thoughts about foreseeable changes.
Bottom line: Although it can be a difficult conversation to start and navigate, identifying foreseeable changes and making contingency plans is a very practical, concrete step to ensuring person-specific plans that can help prepare for future events that could make things worse.
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