The Well-being Group – Psychology Led (co-produced)
The Well-being Group is facilitated by the Psychology team, incorporating the four stage model of care for mental health high dependency inpatient rehabilitation services. The group primarily offers therapeutic intervention for stage 2 and 3 “Recovery and Consolidation.” The group is a psycho-educational workshop providing direct and indirect interventions through group therapy, using evidence based approaches (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Recovery Programmes etc.) The main aims are to:
- reduce distress
- regulate emotional experience and output
- build healthy coping strategies
- explore addiction and relapse prevention
- explore offence focused work
- develop confidence
- develop insight and self-awareness
The Well-being Group works in duality with the Men’s Health Group, exploring connections between physical and mental health themes and strategies, in an attempt to maintain high engagement and interest in topics determined by the individuals who use the service.
Service users are encouraged to design the groups by contributing areas to explore. They run parallel with established Illness Management Recovery modules. The well-being group allows individuals to feel safe and supported whilst expanding their knowledge on specific areas of wellness and well-being.
“It’s a cool way of exploring my mental health and how to cope. It’s good to know what and why things are happening to me.”service user
The Men’s Health Group – Psychology and Occupational Therapy Led (co-produced)
This co-produced group is co-facilitated by Psychology and Occupational Therapy, creating a dual approach to Men’s Health. We incorporate therapeutic interventions to educate and explore physical, mental, developmental and emotional themes that impact the ability to perform daily tasks.
The Men’s Health Group tries to focus on the physical aspects of the theme, complimented and followed upon by the Wellbeing Group the following day. The group contributes meaningfully and effectively to stage 2 and 3 “Recovery and Consolidation” of our 4 stage model of care.
Each theme is co-produced between Psychology, Occupational Therapy and the individuals who use the service. The men are reminded in every session to engage in co-production in designing and delivering the groups, with emphasis that the group is theirs to design. The group allows individuals to feel safe and supported whilst expanding their knowledge on specific areas of men’s health.
“The workouts were good… exhausting, but felt so good!”service user
The Chat Café – Psychology led
The Chat Café is a low intensity therapeutic engagement group for service users who find it difficult to engage in formal individual psychology sessions / groups. It encourages pro-social interactions and enhances social skills. Research has indicated that engagement in psychological group interventions leads to increased feelings of cohesion (Veltro et al, 2008). It also helps participants to feel understood and supported (O’Donovan & O’Mahoney, 2009) and increasing feelings of acceptance.
The group provides a space in which individuals can engage in meaningful activity, including; games, using therapeutic resources (such as putty and poppets), colouring and cue cards whilst interacting in a social group setting. The group is offered on a drop-in basis and is one of the most consistently popular groups for attendance and engagement on Ramsey Unit.
“It is a fun way to be with psychology, it feels more like a chat with friends. When you feel lonely it helps to know others feel the same.”service user
15 Minutes of Mindfulness – MDT Led
15 minutes of mindfulness was introduced to Ramsey Unit to encourage mindfulness practice in daily routine. This allows a short period of regulation and reflection, without judgement, to start the day positively. Theorised benefits of engaging in mindfulness as a routine practice include:
- increased self-control and self-awareness
- improved tolerance
- enhanced flexibility
- improved concentration and attention capacity
- increased emotional intelligence
- increased theory of mind
Facilitators lead a guided exercise with diversity in scripts, including body scans or meditation and visualisation for 15 minutes. This group is swiftly becoming a popular group, with service users reporting a sense of calm and fulfilment when engaging in this practice.
Individuals are encouraged to adopt this practice independently throughout their day to increase self-awareness, self-control and decrease feelings of distress and/or being overwhelmed. The group provides a calm space in which individuals can engage in meaningful mindfulness, promoting “mindful” not “mind full”.
“It helps to relax me, calm me and organise my thoughts for the day. It makes me feel more in control of my day after a hard night.”service user
