To ask for advice for reasonable adjustments for anxiety?

[occexpi]

I have anxiety, and in my previous job it impacted me quite a lot as I struggled and would worry a lot about making mistakes, presenting to clients on Teams/Zoom calls, and I struggled a lot with the social aspect (it was a social company with a big fancy office in the City where there'd be drinks and social events you were expected to attend).

I have made a career change and gone back to university to retrain to become a speech and language therapist. I declared I have anxiety, and so I need to have an occupational health appointment before I can be declared fit for practice.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experiences with what kinds of reasonable adjustments can be expected? I'm used to just getting on with things and pushing through difficult situations, but that has led to burnout so I want to try and be a bit more proactive about things.

Sometimes I think would help would be getting to meet my placement supervisor informally before placement starts to discuss what to expect on my first day/week there as I worry a lot about not knowing what to expect and feeling unprepared. I also think it would be helpful to have some kind of recognition of my anxiety in presenting, as we are graded on how confident we are in university presentations and it's something I always have done badly in. It would also help to be able to commute to placements rather than need to stay overnight as I live with family and they are a big source of support for me, although I know this may not be feasible.

Does any of that sound unreasonable? Thank you

You can literally ask for whatever you think it is helpful to you. There is no cookie-cutter reasonable adjustment list.
Clinical supervisors (good ones!) are usually very accommodating and meeting them in advance is a standard practice anyway. I would encourage you to be fully open and honest with them. I had a horrible first placement experience and with every subsequent supervisor, I sat them down and explained what happened, how it affected my confidence and what I need from them in order to support me through placement.
University wellbeing services are pretty good with this sort of thing but it will help if you prepare in advance and think about your actual challenges and how best to overcome them. Here is the link to a "positive health statement". It is for people with chronic fatigue but you can adapt it to your own condition:
Positive health statement accessible.docx (live.com)

As far as commuting to placements, university is not going to stipulate where you stay. I can't imagine there are many overnight shifts in SaLT. They should allocate you placements that are no further than 2h travel time away as a standard policy.

One way to think about it is the barriers you face and then how to remove them.

If we take fear of the unexpected the barrier is not knowing what is going to happen. This can be addressed by being given information in advance. This could be being given an agenda or timetable in advance. Possibly with a sentence about what each item is. For example if there is an ice breaker telling you what it will be allows you to prepare rather than having it dropped on you. What you have to do is not share this advanced information with others - it can impact on the flow of the day etc.

As pp said placements may not be overnight. A reasonable adjustment maybe to have a phone/video call in advance to go through the timetable of the placement.

You may find a workplace passport could be adapted so you can forward to placements etc. setting out your adjustments. It may make it easier for both you and them. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1094407/health-adjustment-passport.pdf

You can ask for anything to be considered that you feel may be of benefit to you.

I wish you luck with it and hope your sector is a lot more understanding than teaching.

I have had every single suggestion I made in 2 different schools listened to, and was then told straightaway that not one of them was possible.

It’s deeply hurtful and frustrating when a few minor alterations could greatly improve things for me and them and my students ultimately.

My students with anxiety on the other hand get given a time out pass enabling them to leave the room and have time on their own whenever things feel too overwhelming. They also get in house counselling, and are able to leave and start school up to an hour earlier/later every day, have permission to leave lessons up to 10 minutes earlier to avoid the crowds, and are consulted on where best in the room to be seated. They can also stay inside in an office at break and lunch times if other environments are too overwhelming for them. I’m pleased for them, but deeply pissed off that I get no adaptations whatsoever.