The Wellness Center at Technical Area 3 is offering two class sessions designed to help Laboratory employees cope with change. The classes are free and take place in Room 106 at the Wellness Center (HSR-2).
The classes, “Taking It in Stride: Coping with Change,” are both at noon on Tuesday (April 4) or May 2. To register click here or call 7-7166. Classes are limited to 15.
Employee Assistance Counselor Amy Anderson and Clinical Psychologist Evelyn Kennedy, both of HSR-2 teach the classes.
According to Linda Lambert of HSR-2, the classes focus on ways to cope more effectively with change and increase participants’ understanding of their personal reactions to change. Participants will discuss the process of change in general, as well as individual differences in response to change, and have the opportunity to identify styles of coping with change and the various factors that come into play when dealing with change.
“We see all kinds of reactions to change at [the Laboratory]. People’s responses range from welcoming change and seeing it as a challenge and opportunity to resisting change and seeing it as an obstacle and barrier," said Kennedy.
“Those who have difficulty coping with the stress of change can experience negative reactions, such as increased anxiety, sadness, sleep disturbance, irritability, muscle tension or an overall feeling of unease,” she added.
One of the goals of the class is to help participants see change as an inevitable process that affects people in different ways, Kennedy continued. Equally important is helping participants identify their individual response to the process of change and develop strategies for coping effectively with change in their lives.
For more information, call Lambert, at 7-4782.
