St Andrew’s launches new virtual therapy programme to help local community struggling with lockdown

St Andrew’s Healthcare is launching a new virtual group therapy course, which will run over 8 weekly sessions, to help people manage their emotions and mental health during lockdown. 

The sessions called ‘Coping with Emotions’, will be based around Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and will support individuals to become better equipped to recognise problematic emotions and to manage them more effectively.

The course will be run by Jade Mitchell, a Trainee Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, who works within the Community Partnerships division of St Andrew’s Healthcare.

“The past year has been hard on everyone. We wanted to do something which could help the community in a positive way, and allow people to have an increased sense of control over their mental health and wellbeing.”

“The Coping with Emotions therapy sessions are specifically designed to target some of the difficult emotions that research has found to be exacerbated by COVID-19, such as anxiety, low mood, stress and anger.”

CBT is a type of talking therapy that is widely used within the UK, both in the NHS and in the private sector. It is based on the idea that how we think about situations can affect the way we feel and behave; our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and behaviours are all connected, and changing one of these can affect the others.

During the 8 weekly sessions, participants will learn a variety of skills to help manage difficult emotions in day-to-day life, but also during times when emotions can become overwhelming.

When asked about whether participants will be expected to talk about topics they find difficult, Jade said:

“The course may naturally bring up certain things for certain people, but the sessions are designed to be a safe space to support people, so those taking part can decide what they do and don’t want to disclose.

“The nature of the sessions will be interactive, but that does not mean that people will have to share anything personal or anything that you do not feel comfortable with.”

Each group will feature between 6-10 people, and the sessions will run virtually meaning there will be no physical contact involved. There will be a nominal fee associated with the entire course of £30 per person.

For more information about the course please visit our FAQS page on the course here.