Healthy Minds Bucks
The Buckinghamshire IAPT service
Working together to improve wellbeing
Courses
- Healthy Minds run a variety of courses to support people to manage low mood, stress and anxiety
- Informed by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), the courses support individuals to begin to recognise the relationship between their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, with guidance to make practical changes
- The courses are led by two clinicians who will guide the you through the session materials
- The courses run over 6 weeks as weekly sessions for 2 hours each. We are currently running all of our groups and courses via Microsoft Teams. Please click here for further information and a guide to access Teams: https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/healthyminds/your-digital-consultation/
Session 1 – Introduction to CBT
Session 2 – Exploring low mood and decreased activity
Session 3 – Overcoming barriers and identifying our values
Session 4 – Noticing unhelpful thoughts
Session 5 – Challenging negative thoughts and improving sleep
Session 6 – Maintaining change and planning for the future
Session 1 – Introduction to CBT
Session 2 – Management of physical symptoms
Session 3 – Managing worry and solving practical problems
Session 4 – Noticing and challenging unhelpful thoughts
Session 5 – Understanding and dealing with avoidance
Session 6 – Maintaining change and planning for the future
Benefits include
- A fast way to access treatment support
- Learning from others who have similar difficulties
- Discovering ways to manage and improve your symptoms in a safe and structured setting
- You will be taught the same techniques as you would be taught in individual treatment
- Courses run at a variety of times throughout the day and evening
Insomnia support
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Long Term Health Conditions
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Groups
As well as our courses, we regularly run a number of therapy groups for a variety of difficulties. These are currently being run via Microsoft Teams
This group focuses on how to:
- Understand the nature of your depression
- Develop an understanding of the interactions between our thoughts, behaviours and feelings
- Develop strategies to cope with triggers that may cause people to become depressed, such as problem solving and challenging unhelpful thinking
- Reduce the chances of becoming depressed again
- Practice these skills and strategies in between the weekly sessions and then review them in the group
- Learn about the nature of OCD, including intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviours and how this fits together in a common pattern of interactions
- Understand how making unhelpful assessments of our thoughts can cause these thoughts to become intrusive and cause behaviours to be repeated
- Develop strategies to cope with thoughts and life events, and use behavioural experiments to break the vicious cycle of OCD
- Learn about the nature of low self-esteem: how it develops, how it affects our emotions and thoughts, and how it influences how we lead our lives. We will look at how this all fits together in common patterns of interactions
- Understand what keeps low self-esteem going
- Build experience and confidence in situations which you find difficult and which trigger self-critical or anxious thoughts
- Develop a more positive and accepting attitude towards yourself
- Plan for managing future difficulties and challenges
- More about dementia and how it affects your loved one
- More about managing stress and low mood that can occur in the role of being a carer
- How to respond when your relative is distressed and how to cope with the behaviours you find most difficult
- The opportunity to share experiences with others
We know that, at times, living with Type 2 Diabetes can be a challenge. The Diabetes Wellbeing Course is for anyone living with Type 2 Diabetes. This course is designed for anyone who would like help with managing their diabetes, including the emotional impact. The course is made up of six weekly sessions. We can also offer help for living with Type 1 Diabetes, please ask us for further information.
This 10 week group is for people experiencing Depression but who also want to increase their physical activity levels. In it you will:
- Learn CBT strategies and techniques to manage and overcome low mood
- Learn about the link between low mood and physical activity
- Have 30 minutes protected time for movement and physical activity as part of the group
Testimonial from a group member:
“I enjoyed the group thoroughly and found the social interaction good. It was really good to see and hear from others going through similar things to me as well as seeing everyone getting involved with the physical side of things. It made me adjust my thinking process around ‘smiley fitness instructors’ e.g. Joe Wicks. I looked forward to attending the group and the facilitators were excellent. I’ve made a friend out of the group as well which I’m pleased about. I found it all brand new but really interesting, the content was thought provoking and got me thinking in different ways, particularly about my Rules for Living.”
- Learn daily meditation practices
- Have the opportunity of applying these ideas to your own experience, through regular meditation practice, through discussion with other participants, through exercises done in class and through weekly home practice
- Have access each week to audios to guide your meditation practice to help you consolidate what you have heard in class
- Have the unique opportunity of sharing your experiences and ideas with others who understand the issues caused by depression
- Learn daily meditation practices
- Have the opportunity of applying these ideas to your own experience, through regular meditation practice, through discussion with other participants, through exercises done in class and through weekly home practice
- Have access each week to audios to guide your meditation practice and handouts to help you consolidate what you have heard in class
- Have the unique opportunity of sharing your experiences and ideas with others who understand the difficulties caused by health problems
The Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) group can offer a space in which to both explore interpersonal difficulties and to develop interpersonal skills which can then be transferred to the outside world. It can be a place in which to experiment with new ways of interacting with others. A group can offer the ideal place to work on breaking patterns of social isolation as you are with others who are experiencing similar issues.
This is a 10 week structured group designed to help mothers struggling with depression and anxiety after birth. The course is facilitated by a CBT Therapist, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and Health Visitor. We also offer one session just for partners.
The group provides an improved understanding of postnatal depression and anxiety and learning to look after yourself again. We also learn to apply practical strategies using a CBT approach.
Many people with physical health difficulties can have times when they feel down or worried about it. Feeling down or worried can, in turn, make it harder to manage your LTC the way you want to.
The Live Well team can help with managing the emotional impact of living with a long term condition. Please click here for further information.
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Covid-19 update: We are currently supporting people safely and effectively mainly through the use of digital solutions or telephone appointments, although there are some in-person appointments available. If you have any questions about this please contact us.