Leticia Martínez Val: «Much of work stress arises from relationships»

When we think about the concept of work, it is easy for us to end up seeing everything in terms of rational calculation.: How much money is the hour worked worth? How many tasks must be done in a working day?

While these considerations are necessary, they are not enough to understand how a job will suit us (or vice versa); there are also psychological variables to take into account. And not taking care of them can cost us a good part of our health.

It is because of that it is essential to know what work stress is; the psychologist Leticia Martínez Val explains it to us in this interview.

• Related article: "Burnout (Burning Syndrome): How to detect it and take action"

Interview with Leticia Martínez Val: work stress and Third Generation Therapies

Leticia Martínez Val is a health psychologist with a consultation in Zaragoza and specialized in Third Generation Therapies. In this interview she tells us about the application of these therapeutic tools applied to work stress.

What common element do the different Third Generation Therapies share?

First Generation Therapies were carried out at the beginning of the 20th century and were a revolution at that time, since for the first time science began to be done on disorders of the mind. Scientific rigor and the development of techniques based on empirically validated laws of learning were sought.

Until that moment, the usual were psychoanalytic therapies by the hand of Freud and his disciples, where his contribution to the field of thought and general culture seems incalculable to me, but it does not belong to the field of science, at least as we know it today.

Second Generation Therapies emerged in the middle of the s. XX, and although the behavior modification techniques of the First are still maintained, thought is introduced as the main variable to explain the disorders. Not only did the observable behaviors of Pavlov's dog, among others, matter, but people's thoughts and beliefs are also considered. This second wave was called cognitive-behavioral.

The Third Generation Therapies arise at the end of the s. XX, although many of them began to be designed decades before, and they differ qualitatively from the previous ones.

In this case, they are not aimed at reducing cognitive symptoms and thus alter behaviors (we modify limiting thinking and beliefs to thus alter problem behaviors), but instead focus on altering the function of the symptom, modifying the context in which it occurs (the The disorder is not in the person, but rather the person is in a problematic situation that they have to learn to solve in another way (strategies of change). I would say that Third Generation therapies have in common: focus on the present, radical acceptance, shared compassion-humanity, and activation-confrontation.

People have thoughts and emotions that we usually label as positive or negative. Both are equally ineffective, as we will tend to cling or cling to positive thoughts and emotions, so when an event happens unpleasant or painful we will feel deeply unhappy because we do not want to get out of the constant state of happiness that we think is normal (Let's not talk about what social media can influence on this topic and be constantly comparing ourselves to those seemingly perfect IG lives and happy). This makes all the thoughts and emotions that we label as negative we want to reject them, because if something does not cause me pleasure or happiness we will want to avoid it. This is not living in life!

Just the fact of living already implies that painful situations are going to happen, and the first step is to accept this. Embrace the idea that we will be able to remain vigilant and stable in these situations. We must learn to tolerate discomfort, in this way we will know how to better savor and appreciate the sweet moments, which there will also be.

For what the general proposal of Third Generation Therapies I believe is clarity, to stay attentive and calm to learn to manage the thoughts-emotions as neutral and consciously decide how we are going to fix it. Because believe me, in this life except death, everything has a solution. Through meditation and other techniques, we can develop the patience necessary to learn to wait. We are in the time of immediacy. This can not be like this.

As a psychologist, what made you want to train yourself in these types of psychotherapeutic intervention?

My initial training revolved around cognitive-behavioral therapy (second generation), which even today remains the model of choice for many professionals. It is very effective, but in my practice, it is limited.

My life and professional experience made me not want to settle, there had to be other models that could generate an experience transformative to people who were suffering, there had to be a way to address all the casuistry of problems that came to query.

I started reading Jaakko Seikkula and her wonderful proposal in Open Dialogue Therapy, Marsha Linehan and her Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Hayes and her. Acceptance and commitment therapy, etc.

At the same time, I had wonderful mentors in my immersion in the Family Systemic Model who deeply inspired me and I saw very clearly that my path had to continue. in neuroscience, what I consider the new therapeutic revolution, so I began my adventure in the world of Research, specifically in the field of the Mindfulness, Self Compassion and Contemplative Sciences. In short, in Third Generation Therapies. The first step to change was to change yourself. And that I did.

What are the aspects of Third Generation Therapies that seem most useful to you in the face of frequent psychological problems in the workplace?

The most frequent problems within the workplace that come to consultation are usually relational. This means that much of the work stress that we generate is associated with other people and our interaction with them arises from relationships.

We suffer in solitude but we share our life and work space with other people, so I consider it to be It is important to apply a systemic vision to therapy and teach patients to improve their way of relating and interpret the world.

The first step we will take for the patient is to calm down, we will give them support and help them to let go.

Interpersonal conflict resolution training is also highly effective. Here we will work the esteem, mindfulness and clarity training to make a correct interpretation of the facts. Only by being calm and with a clear mind will we be able to resolve conflict situations. To be at peace.

What you feel matters. What you think matters, and you have to learn to properly communicate your wants and needs. What you say represents and defines you. Not communicating clearly and precisely causes you to do so reactively, and that often makes us feel sorry for what we have said in an argument. We could call it "authenticity of emotion".

In the case of work stress, what are the techniques related to Third Generation Therapies that are most effective?

Work-related stress often brings depression, generalized anxiety, sleep, eating, somatic disorders (pain, physical discomfort), aggressiveness and permanent stress, fear and anguish, emotional blockage and loss of self-esteem, among others.

The most used techniques would be Mindfulness, tolerance to discomfort, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. To this is added the link and therapeutic presence.

Is work stress experienced in very different ways depending on the type of work being done? For example, perhaps in the most creative jobs it has some peculiarities compared to the tasks facing the public, compared to professional sports.

Work stress is experienced in the same way, what is usually a differentiating factor are their particularities. The most important thing in a therapeutic process is to adapt as much as possible to the patient and help him to satisfactorily resolve his fears and symptoms, whatever they may be.

For example, someone famous will be more likely to work on the management of their private life and their exposure to public life, their pressure It will be more oriented to the idea of ​​"responsibility" before hundreds, thousands or millions of people, to that of being in good physical shape, etc.

And someone who works in front of the public will have other types of peculiarities that generate stress, but in the end, both will experience, for example insomnia, lack or increase in appetite, self-esteem problems, fear of failure, panic attacks, etc.

Since the psychotherapy process begins, how long does it usually take to manage and mitigate work stress?

Everything depends on the person, but the average time usually ranges from two months to a year.

There is a popular belief that therapy is a long and tedious process that takes years with few results. And nothing is further from that. Now the therapies are short and goal-focused. We want the patient to feel well as soon as possible and the symptoms do not become chronic.