With Beyond EAP’s 10th anniversary approaching, I found myself reflecting on the many employees we’ve supported in a variety of different situations. As I reflected, something interesting occurred to me. We ask so many questions in the course of our therapy work, so why not turn the tables?
I then made the (brave!) decision to offer an employee we’ve supported the chance to ask me anything they wanted: about Beyond EAP and about me personally.
What would they most want to know? Read on to find out!
Becky’s story: a summary
I asked Rebecca (Becky) Birch: a Client Service Assistant at a law firm we work with at Beyond EAP, to put 10 burning questions directly to me.
To introduce Becky, here’s what she had to say about our original work together:
“I was put in contact with Sandie following multiple life events that included losing my Dad and being diagnosed with cancer. I was also supporting my husband after he had lost his own father, and who had been diagnosed with cancer not long before me.
Sandie helped me deal with the trauma that originated from losing my Dad, giving me strategies and a toolkit to help me move forward. She made me feel safe and I trusted her. Essentially, Sandie put me back together again, and I am eternally grateful for her support and her invaluable knowledge.
Now, in celebration of Beyond EAP’s 10th anniversary, I’m happy to have the chance to ask Sandie the questions that I, and I’m sure many others, would like to know.”
10 Questions for 10 Years of Beyond EAP
So here are Becky’s questions, which I have to say really made me think and that I enjoyed answering.
1. What is something people may not know about you personally?
Other than a deep mission to support people, my major passion is music. If I’m not listening to it, I’m humming or whistling!
Having studied neuroscience, I know how music, especially binaural beats, can affect our mood and even change the topography of our thinking. It’s just so powerful and can evoke emotions at the drop of a hat… When we plan a celebration of any kind, the music will always be key, because it holds such collective meaning.
I have been lucky enough to channel my love of music into being a member of the House Gospel Choir. One of the biggest gigs I performed at was the BBC Gospel TV show, on which we backed Sir Tom Jones, the beautiful Beverley Knight, and the talented Jessie Ware.
These days I put music together in genre-based playlists (yes, I am very much that person!) I also attend gong baths and age-appropriate music events with the DJs that I admire.
Of course, I go to plenty of live music events. The last one was Ruby Turner… and wow, what emotion she evoked in me!
2. What inspired you to start Beyond EAP 10 years ago?
In short, I was that employee who needed help. Twenty-three years ago I experienced a catalogue of sequential traumatic events. One of those events on its own would have been challenging enough, but together – and with a demanding corporate role to hold down at the same time – I went into freefall.
There was no recognised term for “burnout” back then: the closest we had was “having a nervous breakdown” which carried a lot of stigma. The HR team at my company had no idea who I was or what to do; there was no support, no empathy, and certainly no phased return to work.
I remember the nightmare of having been signed off, and my then-line manager insisting that I call him first thing every morning to explain why I wasn’t coming in. The shame and lack of understanding made me spiral even further downwards.
This long, slow journey made me want to understand myself more, so I started attending various training courses (which now would be called self-development) to understand what had happened to me. I wanted to create a tool-box of techniques and strategies that I could use and reuse to support myself, searching far and wide for insights.
I regained my confidence whilst re-training and working as a teaching assistant in a local primary school, before deciding to work for myself as an executive coach. That didn’t feel right, but helping employees regain their own confidence following life-changing events, such as maternity leave and illness, did.
After a few years, I rebranded my company to Beyond EAP, because we go beyond the ‘normal’ EAP function for companies in supporting their teams.
3. What is your proudest accomplishment in the 10 years since Beyond EAP started?
Confession: I find it incredibly hard to talk myself up, which is why I concentrate on supporting others! But I think it would have to be when I was asked to speak at a House of Commons event about the gender pay gap.
It was all about guiding HR and company owners on how best to support their maternity leavers and returners, creating an environment for them to thrive in and that makes them want to continue their career trajectory.
The other was being asked questions that were featured in a prominent Times newspaper article, in which I was cited as a credible source.
4. Can you tell us about one of your favourite “firsts” at Beyond EAP?
It was being asked to step in immediately to support a whole family who had been involved in a terrorist attack.
The insightful HR team could see the benefit of not just supporting the employee but their partner and children too. It was then that I called on associates and looked at the skillset of others to share the support and remove any conflicts of interest.
I knew someone whose specialty was supporting children, so she stepped in. Another trauma therapist (who I trained with, knew, and had worked with before) also provided support to the employee's partner.
It was a lot to orchestrate and manage, but I learned so much from the employees, and to collaborate with other people whose skills complemented mine meant that everyone had exactly what they needed.
5. What is one major challenge you’ve faced in these 10 years?
Undoubtedly COVID. It was strange, as late in 2019 I kept feeling that I was going to be inundated with referrals the following year, but I couldn’t understand why.
This feeling became more intense, so in January 2020 I booked a last-minute holiday to Mexico to rest, recuperate, and read good books on therapy and trauma (which I posted about on LinkedIn). Eight weeks later, I was with an employee in a therapy session, when she had an urgent call to collect her child from nursery. She was told it was closing down for the foreseeable future, and that’s when I finally knew something chaotic would happen.
Little did I know that for two years my inbox would blow up with referrals for support – so many that I couldn’t manage them all. So I quickly called upon my trusted friends and associates, asking them to step in – and that’s when ‘Sandie and the Janes’ was born!
Jane Mitchell and Jane Smart are both fantastic, and our strong relationship continues through referrals, cases, resources, and sharing advice. I truly value these women who came into my life, because they stopped me from going into burnout and compassion fatigue. Instead, they enabled me to continue through the most challenging of times to give our clients the best possible service.
6. What is a stand-out memorable moment you’ve had at Beyond EAP?
I think the most memorable moments are collective. They happen when an employee I’ve supported moves through their issue, and both they and I witness their unique transformation.
Some people think therapy is about undoing what’s already happened, but we can’t just delete the past. Therapy is about guiding that person to a new road of self-discovery; to break old habits and thinking patterns that don’t serve them; and to build new healthy associations which then becomes their default.
For me, having a breakdown was actually a breakthrough. Even though I felt it was the worst time in my life for a long time, I now see it as the best thing that happened to me because it woke me up!
Employees I’ve worked with know that, when they reach this transformation point, I call it an ‘upgrade to our operating system’, as it creates a new, 2.0 version of ourselves. I wouldn’t be who I am today without my past trauma, so I claim it and I own it.
7. Where do you see Beyond EAP going in the next 10 years?
There has been a shift in employee care post-COVID, which is very positive. Going further, I hope that more and more companies will see the benefit in supporting their employees as early as possible, so they don’t have to leave their careers as I did.
I would like more organisations to not simply tick the EAP box with a basic level of service, but to have bespoke personal support available to all employees when they need it most.
Ultimately, I would like Beyond EAP to continue to grow and produce even more off-the-shelf training. This will enable line managers to gain from our understanding of what employees really need, especially when they are going through a personal crisis like the death of a loved one.
By 2034, I’d like support for any life change – whether it’s having a baby, adoption, egg donation, or loss – to be freely offered, and for employee emotional wellbeing to be the driving force for employers.
8. Can you describe Beyond EAP in one sentence?
We are a corporate employee support service, offering specialist solutions that go beyond the confines of traditional EAP.
9. What is something important you have learned over the past 10 years?
There’s a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that goes: “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen” which I wrote down and pinned on my wall (there are actual posters of this quote now!) I saw these words in action, after realising I didn’t have the right energy for the executive coaching I’d planned to offer.
When I aligned my energy with my purpose and mission and followed the positive feelings around it, everything started to open up. I saw proof of this during my re-training; clients would often ask me about the very subject I was training in at the time, sometimes on the same day. I knew this couldn’t be a coincidence.
So don’t think that any part of your journey is wasted time, effort, or money, because ultimately it will lead you where you need to be.
10. How does Beyond EAP stand out from other organisations?
We stand out because what we offer is truly bespoke and fully responsive. I genuinely believe that we’re unique in those respects, because I’m not aware of any other company that does everything we do.
Beyond EAP has grown and developed in direct response to what companies and HR teams have told us they need most. That’s why we’ve introduced our specialist employer training – because people kept telling us they needed it! – and why we’re always expanding the scope of our employee support.
Thank you to Rebecca Birch for these insightful questions! For more information about our bespoke employee support, and to download any of our extensive self-created resources, click here.