B
GEN111 Enable individuals, their family and friends to explore and manage change
Overview
This standard covers supporting individuals, their family and friends through the process of change, by enabling them to explore the implications of change, the options open to them and managing the process of change. The support provided will be over a number of interactions rather than in a one-off encounter.
Due to the focus on change, it is important that you take full account of the personal beliefs and preferences of individuals and how their exploration and management of change will be affected by their cultural background and developmental stage, previous experience or statutory involvement. There is also an emphasis on enabling and exploring choice and the need to maintain confidentiality.
This standard applies to those who support individuals and their family and friends to cope with change. The standard is designed to be applicable to all individuals, and significant others, who need to explore and manage change. It is intended to be applicable in all settings in the healthcare sector where this happens.
Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies.
Version No 1
Knowledge and Understanding
You will need to know and understand:
- appropriate national and statutory legislation taking account of confidentiality issues where appropriate
- why it is important to maintain personal and professional boundaries with individuals, especially when you are providing intimate physical care and emotional support in daily living situations
- why it is important to be aware of the potential power and impact of your own life experiences and emotional responses on the interactions with individuals
- the need for positive discrimination such as where there may be a need to pass the person on to another worker who may be able to give more appropriate support
- the individual's stage of emotional, intellectual and physical development
- your own strengths and limitations, values and attitudes, and how these affect your work with different people
- the social context in which people live and how this may affect their ability and willingness to change
- how the social context may affect the choices available to people or which they believe to be available
- the different ways in which individuals welcome and manage change
- the nature of social interaction and how the interaction and relationship between yourself and the individual may have a direct effect on their ability to manage change
- your role and responsibilities to the individual
- how individual's personal beliefs and preferences may affect how they approach change and the sort of changes which may prove to be stressful
- identifying and exploring obstacles to change in relation to practical, emotional, social, spiritual and sexual aspects
- the extent to which you have any power to influence and affect the process of change either for the better or for the worse, through your own prejudices which you may bring to the situation
- factors affecting the ability of family and friends or the competence to provide support
- the effect which the delivery of support services may have on the individual's ability and willingness to change
- how to show support, comfort and understanding to those experiencing change
- methods of enabling individuals to identify, express and explore their feelings
- how you can manage situations where the options which the individual chooses run counter to your own beliefs and preferences
- how to balance decisions about passing the person on to another worker who may be able to give better support whilst being clear yourself that you are not just passing on a difficult situation
- how to demonstrate empathy with people in a manner which is constructive
- how to maintain this role whilst showing empathy, concern or support to an individual who may be distressed, acting out, sad, silent, tearful or angry
- strategies for dealing with difficult situations which have a strong emotional impact
- how to recognise your own reactions to emotions and ways of dealing with them
- methods of providing support to help people manage change
Performance Criteria
You must be able to do the following:
- encourage individuals to talk through and explore the changes in their lives, and to decide whether, when and how this is done
- provide information to the individuals that is up-to-date and acknowledges the complexity of the decisions which they may need to make and the constraints placed upon them
- discuss with the individual the range of options which are feasible for them
- explore the advantages and disadvantages of different options with individuals and support them in coming to their own decisions about their courses of action
- encourage and support individuals to identify and explore the changes affecting them in their own manner and at their own pace
- reflect the individuals' views and concerns back to them to confirm that you have gained an adequate understanding of them
- encourage individuals to explore their responsibilities and consider any risks in relation to the choices they may make
- interact with individuals in a manner consistent with your own role
- offer access to other sources of support when this is likely to be of benefit to the individual
- base decisions as to what the individual should know and when they should know it on an informed understanding of what the individual will experience, their interest in knowing what will happen and their level of understanding
- make commitments that are capable of being met within your own work role, your overall work commitments and the services you are contracted to deliver
- ensure your records of interactions with the individual, options explored and decisions made are accurate, legible and complete and are capable of being used by others in the team
- manage your own feelings aroused by the changes which the individual is experiencing, in a way which supports the right to such feelings, whilst minimising any undue effects on the care setting
- access and review information on an individual's need for support and the factors which are specific to their circumstances
- contact individuals, and significant others at optimal frequencies and encourage them to feed back on the effectiveness of the support available
- acknowledge and respond appropriately to feedback from all those involved
- encourage everyone involved in the change process to explore and identify their commitment to agreed courses of action and offer suggestions as to how things could be improved
- evaluate existing sources of support for their effectiveness to meet the individual's needs and wishes
- explore other, potentially applicable, sources of support with individuals when the services currently provided are not effective in supporting them through the process of change
- ensure the actions you take acknowledge the effect which your own experiences, job and relative position of power may have on your interactions with others
- make commitments that are capable of being met within your own work role, your overall work commitments and the services you are contracted to deliver
Additional Information
This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard replaced MH47.
This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004):
Dimension: HWB4 Enablement to address health and wellbeing needs