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Frequency and duration

Psychosocial interventions should be initiated as early as possible, ideally within the first few weeks post-injury, to prevent unhelpful beliefs and behaviours from becoming entrenched.

Counselling sessions may vary in duration and frequency. The average number of sessions in the major successful studies has been 5 sessions. Key protocols have set a limit of 6 sessions with the need for approval for further sessions.

Providers

As noted above, counselling is best delivered by health or rehabilitation professionals trained in biopsychosocial counselling. This ensures they have a comprehensive understanding of the biological processes triggered by psychosocial responses and can manage pain, distress and disability effectively​​.

Providers may be engaged directly by the worker's employer, the employer's insurer or can be an external service provider to ensure flexibility in service delivery​​.

Outcome measurement

As discussed above, reassessment post-intervention is vital for measuring changes in the psychosocial profile and determining the effectiveness of the counselling. This data should contribute to a central database to inform ongoing policy and practice refinement​​.