A register of accredited service providers is to be made available in the area of stress management in a bid to help HR directors weed out the cowboys.
The move follows the launch of a new British Standards Institute stress management standard at the International Stress Management Association’s annual conference in London yesterday.
The standard will form the basis of an auditable certification scheme and organisations accredited under it will be eligible for inclusion in the new register. To date, the stress management industry has been completely unregulated and lacking in any recognised professional standards.
Sadie Hopson, business director at stress management consultancy Euthenia Touch and ISMA member, said: “The stress management industry is saturated with potential service providers, from life coaches and laughter therapists to risk assessors and trainers, and the provision of this new standardisation will allow employers to consult a register of qualified and accredited practitioners.”
The initiative was the brainchild of ISMA board member Francis McGinty and was developed in partnership with the BSI. Its aim was to offer a practical solution to the UK’s rising stress epidemic and subsequent costly impact on the economy, which Dame Carol Black’s report revealed was £100 billion a year, she added.
It was also intended to meet the “growing expectation for regulation” from the insurance industry, Hopson said. The register will be made avialable via the ISMA web site.
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BSI Stress Management training Standards
This is an excellent development to ensure quality and standards are maintained as stress is the number one cause of absenteeism and presenteeism – both of which cost organsiations significant loss from the bottom line.
The PAS 1010 focuses on how to implement a Psychosocial Risk Management (PRM) approach to work related stress. It introduces a new hazard of Culture to the six HSE Risk Factors (control, support, demand, relationships, role and change) with extra emphasis on Bullying and Harassment. this is aimed at Senior Management who have the responsibility to initiate such assessments and oversee them in a cyclic manner.
PAS 1011 not yet completed will focus on Managemenet Standards and Competencies of Managers who have the reponsibility of implementing and making the
PAS 1012 is due to be launched in September and presents the standards required for tertiary interventions from EAP providers, therapists, counsellors acting as service providers.
Training in these Specifications is now available and accrediced by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA) the lead body for Stress management professionals. http://www.isma.org.uk