Mindfulness for health and social care staff

Welcome! We know you care about looking after others. To look after others, it’s important to take time to look after yourself too.

Who are we?

We are an award-winning team of experienced NHS mental health professionals, who are experts in mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy.

Who can access the mindfulness sessions?

Our sessions and courses are available to staff across the region, as well as to colleagues within our own Trust.

You are eligible if you work:

• in the health and social care sector and
• in an area covered by the North East and North Cumbria ICS or the Humber Coast and Vale Resilience Hub. If you’re not sure, please check the maps on the buttons below.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the natural capacity we all have to bring awareness and interest to what is happening in the present moment. Becoming more mindful can support our wellbeing and mental health.

This video is about the approach we offer: mindfulness based cognitive therapy.

Learning mindfulness can help you:

• be more aware of your thoughts and feelings
• be kinder to yourself
• respond more wisely to difficulties and stress.

Mindfulness is recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.

What do we offer?

• Drop-in sessions
• Two-hour taster sessions
• Three-week introductory courses
• Six-week courses
• Eight-week courses
• Follow up activities, such as days of mindfulness practice.

The biggest thing I learnt was how to be present, intentional and kind to myself. I feel better in managing my own mental health as a direct result. I am further in my journey of acceptance.

Drop-in sessions

These regular 30-minute online drop-in sessions aim to support staff wellbeing and include:

• A guided meditation
• An opportunity for some brief discussion.

Sessions currently take place on Mondays at 10am to 10.30am and Tuesdays at 8.30am to 9am, online by Microsoft Teams.

You don’t need to book in advance, and no previous experience of mindfulness is necessary.

To register for the drop-in sessions, please see the ‘Contact us’ section below. Once you’ve been added to our register/mailing list, you will receive weekly email updates with Microsoft Teams links, usually sent first thing on a Monday morning.

I have learnt to be calmer, to accept what is and be in the here and now. To look after myself without judgement, and how to use mindfulness as part of my daily routine which is now adapting and stepping out of automatic pilot.

Two-hour Taster sessions

The two-hour sessions will give you a taste of what mindfulness is all about and the variety of offerings our service provides. Sessions include information, discussion, and guided meditations.  You need to attend a taster before applying for one of our 6- or 8-week courses.  Application forms for the courses are emailed out after each taster session and then places on the courses are allocated on a first come first served basis.  It is therefore advisable to attend a taster session as soon as you can.

The dates listed below are open to regional health and social care sector staff only.  A staff taster session will provide you with information about all the options available to you including our courses for people with experience of depression and stressed carers/parents of someone with mental ill health or learning disabilities.

• ONLINE: 09 September 2024, Monday 1pm – 3pm (Microsoft Teams) (FULLY BOOKED, WAITING LIST ONLY)
• ONLINE: 10 September 2024, Tuesday, 10am – 12pm (Microsoft Teams) (ALMOST FULL)
• ONLINE: 16 October 2024, Wednesday, 10am – 12pm (Microsoft Teams)
• ONLINE: 04 November 2024, Monday, 1pm – 3pm (Microsoft Teams)
• ONLINE: 13 November 2024, Wednesday, 11am – 1pm (Microsoft Teams)
• ONLINE: 27 November 2024, Wednesday, 10am – 12pm (Microsoft Teams)
• ONLINE: 02 December 2024, Monday, 11am – 1pm (Microsoft Teams)
• ONLINE: 10 December 2024, Tuesday, 10am – 12pm (Microsoft Teams)
• More dates to be confirmed

If you would like to signpost service users and/or carers who do not work in the health and social care sector, please direct them to our Mindfulness Clinical Service Webpage for information about the taster sessions and courses available to them. 

You can also contact us on [email protected] or 01325 552017 with any queries.

Three-week introduction to mindfulness course

This course will introduce you to some skills that can help you manage distress and difficulty as well as appreciate the good things in life. It consists of three sessions over a three-week period. Each online session is an hour long and will include brief guided meditations, as well as some theory and discussion. Between these sessions, you will be invited to use the mindfulness practices at home so that you begin to experience the benefits of applying mindfulness to your everyday life.

This course is for health and social care sector staff only, who are new to mindfulness or who only have limited time to attend a course.  If you attend a three-week introductory course, you don’t need to attend a taster session before applying for an eight-week course.

Dates:

• ONLINE: 11, 18 and 25 November 2024, Mondays 12noon – 1pm

To book a place on a three-week introductory course, please follow this link to complete a booking form: Staff Introduction to Mindfulness 3-Week Course Application Form (NOV 2024).

Six-week course for health and social care sector staff

This course is designed for staff who need a time friendly introduction to mindfulness and compassionate self-care. Participants (usually 10-15) and the teacher meet once a week for six sessions each lasting one and a quarter hours. Practising 15-minute guided meditations daily and cultivating mindfulness in daily life under the guidance of an experienced mindfulness teacher has been shown to be helpful in reducing stress. Learning the skills of self-compassion reduces self-criticism and allows us to be more wisely compassionate to others. This course does not teach you how to teach others about mindfulness.

If you would like to attend one of our six-week courses, you will need to attend a two-hour taster session or a three-week introductory course first.

Dates:

• ONLINE: 16 September – 21 October 2024, Mondays, 12pm – 1.15pm (COURSE FULL, WAITING LIST ONLY)
• ONLINE: 24 September – 29 October 2024, Tuesdays, 6pm – 7.15pm

If you have previously attended a taster session / introductory course with us and would like to book a place on a six-week course, please email us at [email protected] or Tel: 01325 552017.

Eight-week courses for health and social care sector staff

An in-depth course with a structured curriculum that combines training in mindfulness with elements of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It includes eight sessions each lasting two and a quarter hours, plus one longer day of practice later in the course. The course will teach you skills to manage distress and to appreciate the good things in life by inviting you to apply what you learn to your own life and developing a regular mindfulness practice. This course does not teach you how to teach others about mindfulness.

Participants (usually 10-15) and the teacher meet once a week. You will need to do some home practice every day to practise the skills you are learning.

If you would like to attend one of our eight-week courses, you will need to attend a two-hour taster session or a three-week introductory course first.

Dates:

• IN-PERSON: 24 September – 26 November 2024, Tuesdays, 10am – 12.15pm, plus Day of Mindfulness on 12 November 2024. No session on 22 October. Venue: Elm Ridge Methodist Hall, Darlington
• ONLINE: 01 October – 03 December 2024, Tuesdays 10am – 12.15pm, plus online Day of Mindfulness on 19 November 2024. No session on 29 October. (COURSE FULL, WAITING LIST ONLY)

If you have previously attended a taster session / /introductory course with us and would like to book a place on an eight-week course, please email us at [email protected] or Tel: 01325 552017.

I have learnt to be calmer, to accept what is and be in the here and now. To look after myself without judgement, and how to use mindfulness as part of my daily routine which is now adapting and stepping out of automatic pilot.

Days of mindfulness for course graduates

Our days of mindfulness practice sessions are included in the eight-week course and previous graduates are also invited to support their ongoing mindfulness practice and sense of wellbeing. The day is spent engaging in a variety of mindfulness practices with limited talking and space for reflection.

Dates:

• ONLINE Tuesday, 25 June 2024, 10am – 3pm (Microsoft Teams)
• IN-PERSON Wednesday, 26 June 2024, 10am – 4pm, Tunstall Village Hall, Richmond, DL10 7QR 7QR (WAITING LIST ONLY)
• IN-PERSON Monday, 01 July 2024, 10am – 4pm, Acaster Malbis Memorial Hall, York, YO23 2UJ
• ONLINE Tuesday, 02 July 2024, 10am – 3pm (Microsoft Teams)
• IN-PERSON Tuesday,16 July 2024, 10am – 4pm, Ingleby Greenhow Village Hall, Middlesbrough, TS9 6LX
• ONLINE Wednesday, 24 July 2024, 10am – 3pm (Microsoft Teams)
• IN-PERSON Thursday, 25 July 2024, 10am – 4pm, Bishop Auckland Methodist Church, Bishop Auckland DL14 6EN
• ONLINE Tuesday, 20 August 2024, 10am – 3pm (Microsoft Teams) PLACES STILL AVAILABLE

The next round of practice days will be in November/December 2024.

If you have attended one of our eight-week courses in the past and are interested in joining us for a day of mindfulness, please follow this link to complete a booking form: Day of Mindfulness Booking Form – June/July/August 2024

You can also contact us on [email protected] or Tel: 01325 552017 with any queries.

Using Mindfulness in Clinical Practice Workshop (TEWV Staff only)

This is a workshop for mindfulness graduates who would like to explore how they can use mindfulness (in the way it is practised in MBCT/MBCT-L) with service users. It is open to TEWV staff who have completed a six-week or an eight-week mindfulness course (or have significant personal experience of mindfulness) and are interested in exploring how to use their mindfulness skills and knowledge with service users.  The session will be a combination of presentations, practice and some group work.

Dates:

• To be confirmed

If you are a TEWV member of staff in a clinical role and would like to book a place on this workshop, please follow this link to complete a booking form: to be confirmed.

You can also contact us on [email protected] or Tel: 01325 552017 with any queries.

Contact us

For any queries or to apply to attend any of our sessions or courses, please email us on [email protected] or Tel: 01325 552017.

We look forward to hearing from you!