Help with the Impact of Covid 19
There is no doubt that these are unprecedented times but some of the experiences people are describing are familiar. We want to use our expertise in emotional wellbeing and trauma to support our communities with the impact of the coronavirus.
People are coping with the situation we find ourselves in different ways. There is a renewed motivation to connect, to create opportunities for growth and focus on our wellbeing. This will help us move forward in this period of change. But for some, the impact of the current pandemic means that people are living with a constant sense of threat, uncertainty and loss. These feelings can feel overwhelming and give a sense of being unable to cope with what lies ahead.
​There is a growing amount of good Coronavirus guidance available online at the moment giving advice on managing anxiety, stress and uncertainty. Here is a link to a great free resource created by experienced mental health professionals https://lms.recoverycollegeonline.co.uk/course/view.php?id=373
​This may help to reduce your anxiety but if you’re struggling to feel comfort from the advice, or still feeling anxious, preoccupied or even distressed, then you might benefit from more personalised support.
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We have developed a range of options:
Keeping your balance:
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A 6 week course to support emotional balance.
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Our Keeping Your Balance course will help you make sense of how you are feeling and learn how our minds and bodies respond to threat, particularly in the context of CoVid. You will develop your own personalised map (formulation), enhance your current ways of coping and develop new ones specific to your needs. We will consider things such as managing isolation/distancing, loss, anxiety and adjustment to new living and working conditions. We will meet as a group weekly in an online Zoom ​meeting. It is important to note that this is a psychologically-informed opportunity to learn new ways of managing challenges, rather than group therapy. You can find out about therapy options to support the impact of Covid below.
Staff Support Sessions:
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Compassion focussed staff support through webinars and Emotional Resilience practice groups
We are currently offering Compassion-focused staff support to organisations, to help staff manage the impact of trauma, particularly whilst managing the additional pressures of Covid. This involves workshops (webinars) and Emotional resilience groups of up to 10 people. They are facilitated by a trained psychologist and can be tailored to the organisations area of work. If you or your organisation would like to understand how this could help, please do get in touch.
Traumatic-stress response group:
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A trauma-focused therapy group for post-traumatic stress and secondary trauma.
Whilst it is very important not to pathologise normal responses to trauma, it is possible that some people may struggle to recover independently from the experiences they have gone through during Covid. (We have described the types of things you might notice in the 'What is Trauma?' section of the website)
If you have been struggling to manage some of the feelings and experiences you've been left once the level of threat you've been under has lessened or feel that you're struggling to cope, you may want to consider a therapeutic option. This group may appeal to front-line staff, keyworkers or anyone without a history of significant trauma who did not gain sufficient relief from online advice or lower-level support. (If you have had previous experiences of abuse or neglectful relationships, you might want to find out about our LifeBEAT below).
The group will offer a safe space to help you understand your experiences, calm your nervous system, gain more emotional stability, process difficult memories & beliefs, gain a sense of connection to people with similar experiences, and begin to live a more connected, fulfilled life again.
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We also have peer mentors with lived experience of traumatic stress within relationships who may be able to offer additional support to a group member if required.
LifeBEAT Complex Trauma Programme
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Life Beyond Adversity & Trauma
We are launching our holistic complex trauma programme, LifeBEAT, later in 2020.​ It is here to support people who've been through adversity or trauma in their lives - particularly involving key relationships. If you have noticed that existing difficulties have been made worse during the pandemic, then you may want to consider becoming part of our programme. It offers psychological, yoga and nutritional therapy alongside support and mentoring from Lived Experience Practitioners. It has been developed to support people who have had difficult experiences within key relationships, who have often struggled to gain access to support elsewhere.
All sessions are currently online via Zoom (www.zoom.us) and last between 60 - 90 minutes depending on the group. It is a simple process of clicking on a link we will provide and entering an ID number, which we can guide you through over the telephone. They are provided by an experienced clinical psychologist skilled in supporting a broad range of needs in the general public and mental health services.
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​Group sessions are offered at the following rates (per person):
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Standard rate - £29
Self-funded - £20
Low Income - Pay what you can from £5 (We are currently securing funding to enable us to offer a number of subsidised sessions).
If you are an organisation interested in commissioning a group for your staff, please get in touch for bespoke pricing.
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Our social impact, before and since Covid, includes offering subsidised services to self-funders & people with low incomes and are currently generating funds to offer free sessions. If you would like to support this please visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/beyond-barriers and email at beyondbarriers@protonmail.com.
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