Rakesh is a 43-year old married senior executive in a services company. He has always been a high achiever at work. Recently he has been experiencing low mood, difficulty in breathing, palpitations, and anger. This has affected his relationship at work as well as at home. Before attending meetings, he would get highly anxious and he was experiencing sleeplessness at home. He felt like he had reached a breaking point and decided to avail psychological consultation by phone with an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counsellor through work.
During the phone counselling session, the Rakesh broke down and reported that being away from his hometown and his concerns about aging parents were worrying him all the time. Since the lockdown started, he has been under the constant fear that something might happen to his parents and he won’t be available to help. For the same reasons he was having constant quarrels at home with his wife further adding to his distress
The Counsellor heard him out and allowed him to ventilate. The counsellor then helped him deal with his emotional challenges and encouraged him to look for options to balance his work and personal life at home. The Counsellor also addressed the concerns that his wife was raising and encouraged open communication between the couple. This further helped Rakesh to be confident and handle his work and personal life better.
Note: Changes have been made to names and specifics to maintain confidentiality. This case study is published to illustrate how counselling sessions can be helpful.