WorkCover Queensland Provider Management Plan (PMP) – Form 032

Worker’s Details

Name: James Blogs

DOB: 22/08/1979

DOI: 14/01/2025

Diagnosis: Adjustment Disorder with Anxious Mood (309.24); Somatic Symptom Disorder, Mild (300.82)

Claim Number: WCQ-2025-011847

Referring Doctor: Dr Sarah Nguyen

Worker’s Occupation: Construction Site Supervisor

This is Provider Management Plan Number: 1

Date of Initial Consultation for Present Injury: 10/02/2025

Total Consultations for This Injury Approved to Date: 5

No. Consultations Required in This Plan: 10

Treatment Plan

James is receiving cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), an evidence-based approach that targets unhelpful thought patterns and avoidance behaviours contributing to his anxiety and somatic symptoms following a serious workplace incident in January 2025. Treatment is focused on psychoeducation about the stress response, graded exposure to work-related situations, and cognitive restructuring of catastrophic beliefs about his physical health and safety. Collaboratively developed goals include: (1) by 30/06/2025, James will report a reduction in anxiety symptoms to the mild range on the GAD-7; (2) by 30/07/2025, James will demonstrate use of at least two independent coping strategies during stressful work-related situations; and (3) by 31/08/2025, James will have commenced a graduated return to work at modified duties for a minimum of 15 hours per week. Ten fortnightly sessions are requested to allow sufficient time to consolidate CBT skills, progress exposure work, and support a sustainable return to work, given the ongoing severity of somatic symptoms and James’s current avoidance of work-related environments. Between sessions, James is completing a thought monitoring diary and practising controlled breathing and progressive muscle relaxation as self-management strategies.

Type and Number of Consultations Being Provided

TOC Item No.: 104

No. of Services or Costs: 10

Outcome Measures Used to Assess and Monitor Worker’s Progress

Outcome Measures:

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7)
• Depression Anxiety Stress Scale – Short Form (DASS-21)
• Patient Health Questionnaire – Depression (PHQ-9)

Measures at Initial Assessment:

• GAD-7: 16 (Moderate-Severe); administered 10/02/2025
• DASS-21: Anxiety 22 (Extremely Severe), Depression 14 (Moderate), Stress 18 (Moderate); administered 10/02/2025
• PHQ-9: 13 (Moderate); administered 10/02/2025

Current Measures at Beginning of Plan:

• GAD-7: 11 (Moderate); administered 14/04/2025
• DASS-21: Anxiety 14 (Severe), Depression 8 (Mild), Stress 12 (Moderate); administered 14/04/2025
• PHQ-9: 8 (Mild); administered 14/04/2025

Anticipated Outcomes at End of Current Plan:

• GAD-7: Score of 7 or below (Mild range), consistent with James’s current rate of improvement of approximately 2–3 points per month
• DASS-21: Anxiety in the Mild range (score of 7 or below), Depression and Stress in the Normal range, reflecting continued reduction in overall distress
• PHQ-9: Score of 4 or below (Minimal range), indicating resolution of moderate depressive symptoms and improved daily functioning

Identified Barriers to Return to Work and Recommended Strategies

Barriers:

• Persistent anxiety and hypervigilance in work-related environments, particularly on construction sites
• Somatic symptoms including headaches and chest tightness that James attributes to physical illness, reinforcing avoidance of work
• Belief that he is unable to perform his supervisory role safely following the incident
• Lack of suitable modified duties available at his substantive workplace

Recommended Strategies:

• Graded exposure to work-related environments will be introduced progressively in session, beginning with imaginal exposure before in-vivo exposure to the worksite
• Psychoeducation about the relationship between anxiety and somatic symptoms to reduce health-related catastrophising and support engagement with return to work
• Cognitive restructuring targeting James’s self-efficacy beliefs about his capacity to perform his supervisory role safely
• Clinician to liaise with James’s employer and rehabilitation coordinator to identify suitable modified duties, with a view to commencing a graduated return to work within the next four to six weeks

Other

James has been engaged and motivated throughout the initial five sessions, attending all appointments and completing between-session tasks consistently. He has a strong support network including his partner and a close friend who is also in the construction industry, both of whom have encouraged his recovery. James has expressed clear goals around returning to his supervisory role and has responded well to CBT interventions to date. His employer has indicated a willingness to accommodate a graduated return to work, which is a significant protective factor supporting his recovery trajectory.