St Andrew’s Healthcare launches new virtual therapy programme to help Northampton residents struggling with lockdown

Northampton based healthcare organisation, St Andrew’s, is launching a new virtual group therapy course, which will run over eight weekly sessions, to help people manage their emotions and mental health during the third lockdown.

The sessions, called ‘Coping with Emotions’, will focus on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - a talking therapy that 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.

‘Coping with Emotions’ aims to support individuals to become better equipped to recognise problematic emotions so that they can be managed more effectively.

The course will be run by Jade Mitchell, a trainee clinical and forensic psychologist, who works within the Community Partnerships decision of St Andrew’s Healthcare.

Ms Mitchell said: “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 widely used within the UK, both in the NHS and in the private sector. It is commonly used to treat anxiety and depression as well as other mental health problems.

Participants, throughout the sessions, will learn a variety of skills to help manage difficult emotions in day-to-day life - particularly when these emotions 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 six to 10 people and the sessions will run virtually, meaning there will be no physical contact involved. There will be a nominal fee of £30 per person in order to participate in the entire eight week course.

You can find more information about the course and register your interest by visiting: https://www.stah.org/coping-with-emotions.