Debriefing and crisis psychological coaching

During and after an organizational crisis, many difficult and potentially uncomfortable situations arise for employees and managers. Often, impartial external help is needed to handle these situations. At LEAD, we offer both crisis psychological coaching and psychological debriefing.

Debriefing and crisis psychological coaching

Crisis psychological coaching is a specialized form of support to help leaders navigate through crises and other difficult periods in organizations. This coaching method focuses on giving leaders the necessary mental, emotional and behavioral tools to handle the pressure of critical moments.

Crises can range from acute emergencies to longer-term conditions, and crisis psychology coaching helps leaders understand and regulate their own reactions and decision-making processes in these situations. This often involves developing stress management strategies, building emotional intelligence and improving decision-making skills under pressure. Crisis psychological coaching is particularly relevant during a crisis.

Once the crisis is over and needs to be processed, psychological debriefing can be a sensible option. Psychological debriefing is a process where employees or managers come together after a stressful event to share their experiences, thoughts and feelings in a structured and supportive group session. The purpose of psychological debriefing is to create a platform for processing and dealing with the emotional impact of the event.

Psychological debriefing allows for open conversations where participants can express their reactions and experiences and get support from colleagues or managers. It can help alleviate stress, anxiety and trauma that can arise as a result of an organizational crisis. The debrief also makes it easier for management to assess how the organization handled the crisis and how they can improve future crisis responses.

Benefits of crisis psychological coaching and debriefing

In the workplace, coaching is a well-known development tool for employees and managers. However, in crisis situations, a very specific type of coaching is needed.

When an organization experiences a crisis that comes from within the organization itself, it's usually the manager who needs assistance and coaching. The manager can be the protagonist of the crisis, but more often than not, the manager is responsible for managing it. Whether it's cheating, sexism or fraud, the eyes of employees and the media naturally turn to management. The same is true if the work environment is poor, the management style is abusive or the culture is inappropriate and unpleasant.

Such pressure activates the manager's system, which goes into crisis mode. The manager runs the risk of acting quickly and in an unbalanced way - and in a way that makes the situation worse rather than better. In this type of situation, help is urgently needed.

The need for psychological debriefing can arise in different ways. It can happen in the heat of a crisis, when employees are unhappy and exposed to all kinds of unpleasantness - physically or mentally. Or it can become apparent when the crisis calms down and it's difficult to return to a normal state.

In both situations, a psychological debrief can help you process the incident. The benefits of this conversation are many. It strengthens cohesion and community. Everyone has the opportunity to put into words what has been difficult. You contain negative consequences and process difficult experiences. All of this helps to shift the focus back to the core task

LEAD's approach to crisis psychological coaching and debriefing

Whether it's crisis psychology coaching or debriefing, we combine research in crisis management with our experience in crisis psychology to help you. We offer confidential support throughout the crisis. In the confidential counseling room, we work with leaders in three areas when it comes to crisis psychological coaching:

Self-care: In stressful situations, it's important to regulate your own system to avoid harm and make informed decisions.
Prioritization: We help identify the most pressing needs and threats in the current situation so you can focus on what's important.
Action: With self-care and prioritization in place, we guide you to make the right decisions and take effective action in the days and weeks ahead.

These steps may seem simple, but it can be difficult to make time for self-reflection when journalists are pressing, employees are expecting action, the leadership team is divided and there's doubt about who can be trusted.

The psychological debriefing takes place in a group setting. Here, employees and managers meet in a quiet place to talk about their experiences. The group sessions can be followed up by individual sessions with members of the organization who have been particularly vulnerable or who have had particularly difficult experiences. For example, employees and managers who are being spat on, receiving threats or being persecuted by the press.

How we can help you

We offer you management and organizational sparring, research-based training and presentations on crisis psychological coaching or debriefing. We also offer training courses with a specific focus on giving you and your organization general management skills. Read examples of our services here.

Presentations

Inspiring research-based presentations on crisis psychological coaching and debriefing for all levels of your organization.

Sparring

Sparring in the development of your strategy, decisions and initiatives.

Workshop

Facilitation of active workshops focusing on competence development at management and executive level.

Meet the consulting team

Anika Mergen Hee

Management consultant

Anne Kirstine Bach Kristensen

Management consultant

Betina Hansen

Senior Consultant

Cecilie Pedersen

Senior Consultant

Claus Elmholdt

Senior Consultant

Katrine Bastian

Partner

Laust Pedersen

Senior Consultant

Maja Bjerrehus

Senior Consultant

Contact us to learn more about what we can do for your organization

Are you facing an organizational change? Do you need strategic advice or a cultural development program?

Contact us and together we will tailor a process that develops the exact competencies and structures that strengthen and future-proof your organization.

Claus Elmholdt

Professional Director, Founder
Cand.Psych.Aut. & Ph.d.
Associate Professor in Management and Organizational Psychology, Aalborg University

Cell phone: +45 26 14 51 57
Email: ce@lead.eu

Debriefing and crisis psychological coaching