Lisa IrvingClinical Psychologist · Telehealth
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Full courseFor injury management consultants

PTSD in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for Injury Management Consultants

Workplace trauma impacts mental health and productivity. This course helps employers support workers with PTSD and build a resilient workplace. Learn to recognise PTSD, provide effective support, explore treatment options, assess work capacity, and navigate workers compensation. Gain practical tools to foster recovery and meet legal responsibilities.

10 modules · 58 lessons · Approx. 8 hours

Welcome!

Lisa Irving (Clinical Psychologist) welcomes you to this training course designed for employers, managers, and HR professionals.

If you’re here, it’s because you want to better support your team, especially when someone has experienced a traumatic event at work. Whether you’re leading a large organisation or a small team, this course will give you the knowledge and tools to understand what PTSD is, how it can affect staff, and, most importantly, what you can do to help.

Here’s how the course is structured:

🔹 Module 1: Understanding PTSD after a Workplace Incident
We’ll unpack what PTSD really is, how it develops after a critical incident, and how it can appear in the workplace, sometimes in subtle ways. You’ll also learn about common myths and what the diagnostic criteria actually say.

🔹 Module 2: Providing Support for Employees with PTSD
You’ll explore how to talk to your staff in a supportive way, what to say (and what not to say), and how to create a psychologically safe environment during recovery.

🔹 Module 3: Navigating the Workers Compensation System
You’ll learn your responsibilities under WorkCover WA, including how to lodge a claim, required timeframes, and how to communicate effectively with insurers and treatment providers.

🔹 Module 4: Effective Treatment Options for PTSD
Lisa explains what evidence-based treatment looks like, so you know what to expect when an employee is in therapy, and how to support that process from the workplace side.

🔹 Module 5: The Worker’s Work Capacity: When is it Good for the Worker to Return to Work?
We’ll cover how psychologists assess return-to-work readiness, how to plan modified duties, and how to reduce the risk of reinjury or relapse.

Each module is short, practical, and designed for real world application. No fluff, just the essentials.

The course will take approximately 8 hours to complete. Your progress is saved automatically, so you can dip in and out as time allows without losing your place.

The course aims to support your understanding of recovery, legal responsibilities, and workplace mental health and safety.

Let’s get started.

Modules

10
  1. Introduction: Lisa Irving & The CARES Model for Work Related PTSDMeet Lisa Irving and learn about the CARES model: five steps to support people with work related PTSD and guide recovery effectively.Show 6 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.Welcome!
    2. 2.A Little Secret About the Course...
    3. 3.The CARES Model
    4. 4.Acknowledging Your Perspective as the Injury Management Consultant: You Matter Too
    5. 5.The Roles of Each Party in the Workers Compensation System
    6. 6.Pre Commencement Survey
  2. Understanding PTSD After A Workplace IncidentLearn what qualifies as a workplace trauma and the common symptoms of PTSD, with real life examples to illustrate how these experiences may present.Show 5 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.Introduction to PTSD
    2. 2.What is the Prevalence of PTSD in Specific Work Settings?
    3. 3.Recognising PTSD in Clients
    4. 4.The Impact of PTSD on Work Performance
    5. 5.Psychometry: A Screening Tool for PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress
  3. Providing Support for your clients with PTSDSupport workers with PTSD by maintaining contact after injury, knowing what to say or avoid, and understanding available treatment options.Show 6 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.Educate employers about what is a Supportive Work Environment
    2. 2.What Should Employers Do When an Employee Has a Psychological Injury?
    3. 3.Don't Say This...Say This Instead
    4. 4.Access to Early Psychological Treatment
    5. 5.Incident Response Review: A Structured Interview
    6. 6.PTSD Audit For Your Organisation
  4. Navigating the Workers Compensation SystemWorkCover WA recognises PTSD as a compensable workplace injury. Learn the rights and responsibilities of both employers and workers in the compensation process.Show 1 lessonHide lessons
    1. 1.Where Employers Go Right (and Wrong) with PTSD Claims
  5. Effective Treatment Options for PTSDExplore effective treatments for PTSD, including EMDR, CBT, exposure therapy, mindfulness, relaxation, meditation, hypnosis, and grounding strategies.Show 8 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.Summary of Treatment Options for PTSD
    2. 2.EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing)
    3. 3.What Is Psychological Safety and Why Is It Important?
    4. 4.Mapping Incidents to Prepare for EMDR
    5. 5.Case Studies: Understanding Reminders of the Incident and Trauma Logic
    6. 6.Reminders of the Incident
    7. 7.Trauma Logic
    8. 8.What Is Generalisation and How Exposure Therapy Helps Undo It
  6. Assessing Work Capacity: When Is a Worker Ready to Return?Learn how psychologists assess a worker’s capacity for return to work: the signs of readiness, and the indicators that recovery is not yet complete.Show 2 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.How Does A Clinical Psychologist Assess If A Worker Is Ready To Return to Work?
    2. 2.Slower Is Faster with PTSD: Why Safety and Pace Matter
  7. Observations and Recommendations for Occupational Groups at Higher Risk of PTSDLisa shares her insights and practical recommendations for occupational groups more vulnerable to PTSD, based on years of clinical experience supporting workers.Show 7 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.Setting the Scene: Stories and Occupations Affected by PTSD
    2. 2.Support Workers: Disability, Aged Care, Detox, and Community Services
    3. 3.Prison Officers
    4. 4.Teachers
    5. 5.Mining: Physical Injury and Sudden Accidents
    6. 6.Nurses and Allied Health: Working in ED and Other Departments
    7. 7.Firefighters
  8. A Thank You and a Note on the AI SoftwareA closing thank you to participants, with insights into the AI software used to create some of the stories and characters featured in this course.Show 1 lessonHide lessons
    1. 1.Thank You
  9. Assessment and Certification of CompletionComplete the quiz and the survey at the end of the course to consolidate your learning and receive your certificate of completion.Show 2 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.PTSD in the Workplace Quiz
    2. 2.Post Completion Survey
  10. Readings and References Relevant to the CourseA collection of key readings and references supporting the course content, organised by topic for further learning and credibility.Show 20 lessonsHide lessons
    1. 1.References: The CARES model
    2. 2.References: The Employer's Perspective
    3. 3.References: Understanding PTSD After a Workplace Incident
    4. 4.References: What is the Prevalence of PTSD in Specific Work Settings?
    5. 5.References: Identify and Recognise PTSD in Employees
    6. 6.References: Impact of Work Related PTSD on Work Performance
    7. 7.References: The Employer’s Role in a Supportive Work Environment
    8. 8.References: What Employers Should Say and Not Say, Do and Not Do
    9. 9.References: Navigating The Workers Compensation System
    10. 10.References: Effective Treatment Options for PTSD
    11. 11.References: Psychological Safety
    12. 12.References: Return To Work Factors
    13. 13.References: The Worker’s Work Capacity: When Is It Good for the Worker to Return to Work?
    14. 14.References: Occupational Groups with High Prevalence of PTSD
    15. 15.References: Prevalence of Support Workers with PTSD
    16. 16.References: Prevalence of Prison Officers with PTSD
    17. 17.References: Prevalence of PTSD in School Teachers
    18. 18.References: Prevalence of PTSD in the Mining Industry
    19. 19.References: Prevalence of PTSD in Nurses and Allied Health Professionals
    20. 20.References: Prevalence of PTSD in Firefighters