Entitled ‘Coping in the time of Coronavirus’, the video-based session provides techniques to help manage worries and deal with isolation, as well as relaxation, mindfulness and sleeping tips.
It has been developed by staff within the new Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Wellbeing Service, which has brought together existing improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) teams into one, fully integrated service with a single point of contact.
Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) and North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust are working together on providing the new service, alongside Mental Health Matters, the Dove Service, North Staffs Mind, Burton and District Mind and Changes Health & Wellbeing.
The online workshop is open to anyone aged over 16 who is registered with a GP surgery in South Staffordshire and not currently accessing mental health services from another team. To register, call the service on 0300 3030 923, leave a message with your name and phone number and a member of the team will call you back.
MPFT Cognitive Behavioural Therapist Laura McCallum, who developed the workshop said: “We understand that many people are naturally feeling anxious at the moment with worries about their health and loved ones; many will also be struggling with being isolated. The workshop uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions to help people through anxiety and low mood they may be experiencing during the current health crisis.
“We are developing an adapted version on the workshop for people with a long-term health condition and an online mindfulness workshop.”
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the wider Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Wellbeing Service is continuing to provide support for people across the county experiencing anxiety and low mood, as well as helping to cope with physical health conditions.
The service is available to people aged over 16 who are registered with a Staffordshire GP. You can self-refer by calling 0300 303 0923 or online at www.staffsandstokewellbeing.nhs.uk.
MPFT’s 24/7 urgent mental health service provides telephone support, advice and triage to people living in South Staffordshire and can be contacted on 0300 555 5001 (please note: this telephone line cannot provide advice on Coronavirus symptoms).