Free mental health and wellbeing support for family members
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is committed to providing its employees and their families with support to help them look after their own and their family’s wellbeing.
Benestar – the ATSB’s Employee Assistance Provider
Benestar is the ATSB’s free and fully confidential employee assistance provider for employees and their family for advice and counselling on physical and mental health, family, work, relationship issues and financial matters.
Family members can use the ATSB ID and Token details we provide to our employees to log into the Benehub online portal or make sure you have these details when you call 1300 360 364 to book a free consultation with Benestar.
Benestar clinicians and other professionals provide confidential and non-judgemental support to guide you through challenging issues or coach you on ways to improve your wellbeing. They can help with sleep, mental health, health and nutrition, family and relationships, money, and stress as well as work or professional issues.
The Benehub online portal also includes information on physical and mental health issues as well as eLearning modules to help you manage your personal circumstances and wellbeing.
What can I do if my loved one is not themselves?
As Australia’s national transport safety investigator anyone at the ATSB can be exposed at some level to a potentially traumatic event.
Exposure can result in direct trauma from being deployed to a fatal accident site or vicarious trauma through involvement with someone who has experienced trauma or repeated exposure to written or visual details of traumatic events. Both types of traumas can have a negative impact on mental health.
Common reactions to direct trauma can involve:
- Upsetting thoughts, dreams, or memories about the event.
- Acting or feeling as though the event were happening again.
- Bodily reaction such as fast heartbeat, stomach churning, shaking.
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
- Heightened awareness of potential dangers to yourself and others.
- Frustration, fear, anxiety, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.
Common reactions to vicarious trauma can involve:
- Taking on too great a sense of responsibility or feeling you need to overstep the boundaries of your role
- Difficulty leaving work at the end of the day, noticing you can never leave on time
- Intrusive thoughts of another’s situation or distress
- Problems managing personal boundaries
- Loss of connection with self and others, loss of a sense of own identity
- Increased time alone, a sense of needing to withdraw from others.
Where to get help
If your loved one is experiencing these symptoms or is just not their usual self, you can help by encouraging them to get in touch with Benestar or encouraging them to show you and walk you through the ATSB’s Critical Incident Stress Management toolbox they have available to them on our internal Hub page, or you can contact a member of the HR team with your questions or concerns.
All employees are supplied with a fridge magnet outlining who you can contact at the ATSB out of hours.
If you feel you or your loved one is in immediate danger, please call 000, visit your nearest hospital or call LifeLine on 13 11 14.
Help is also available at the crisis services listed here.
Online tools and support for dealing with trauma
For information from Lifeline on what is trauma, its short and long term effects, tools and apps and support services visit their trauma webpages – What is trauma? (lifeline.org.au)
Lifeline’s PTSD Program teaches you about post-traumatic stress disorder as well as skills and strategies you can use to manage it – PTSD Program (lifeline.org.au)
Between 5–10 per cent of Australians will suffer from PTSD at some point in their lives. Visit Effects of Trauma - PTSD - Phoenix Australia for more information on symptoms, treatment services and support.
Beyond Blue’s Wellbeing Action is designed to help you find meaning in the small things through the value of having a place to write drown and why that works – Wellbeing Action Tool - Beyond Blue - Beyond Blue
Other mental health and wellbeing resources
Support for mental health issues – BeyondBlue: 1300 224 636
Support for young persons aged 5–25 – Kids helpline: 1800 55 1800
Information on aged care services for older Australians – myagedcare: 1800 200 422
Information and online counselling services for men – MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78
Domestic family violence counselling support service – 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
Phone and online counselling to people affected by suicide – Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467