Grief and Wellbeing – (2 Parts Online) –
This course is designed to provide information and ideas for support for anyone interested in or who has experienced grief or bereavement. It is an online course in two parts. It explores the various types of grief we can experience, and how grief can impact on our lives, wellbeing, and mental health. We explore some of the common theories of grief, share wellbeing tips, and examine how we may be able to support someone who is experiencing grief. Signposting is provided for further sources of support. We encourage students to think about their own experience of grief and loss, and how it might affect them during the course. The course is not usually suited to anyone who has experienced a recent, significant personal loss or bereavement.
Nurturing Creativity Whilst Caring – (3 Parts Online) –
This 3 part online course is designed specifically for people who are supporting family or close friends struggling with their mental health. The course explores the importance of self- care whilst supporting others and explores how we might overcome some of the challenges of putting self-care into practice. Together we look at the role of creativity in self-care, both having a go at creative activities but also nurturing a creative mindset, and think about how we can practise creativity together on this journey. The course will include some simple creative activities to do together in the session as well as practice at home between sessions. We will send you a small resource pack in the post before the course starts. This is a new course that has been co-produced by a researcher from King’s College, London and will be evaluated in order to improve courses for carers in the future. Before enrolling we will email you with more information about the research project and ask you to consent to being a participant. *NB* To enrol on this course please let us know if you have experience of supporting someone with a mental health difficulty, such as a family member, partner, or close friend. You do not have to be a registered ‘carer’, and you will not have to provide any information about the individual you support.
Learning to Manage: Mental Health for Und. 25s (2-part course)
This two-part online course will explore what it is like to navigate mental health as a young person, how to apply strategies to manage our own emotions and support the wellbeing of someone we know. We will equip ourselves with skills, plans and top tips for emotional regulation, resilience and mental wellness. This, in turn, will allow us to understand how to give better help to a friend or family member struggling with their mental health. This course will also explore the mental health services available for young people in Oxfordshire and provide information on how to access them. Please only request to book a place if you are under 25.
Telling Your Story (4-part course)
This 4-part online course will support students to make their own short video story about one aspect of their recovery journey. Telling personal stories benefits our mental health by helping us reflect on and make sense of things that have happened to us. Storytelling also connects us to others and inspires us to cope with new challenges in the future. This course will involve working on how to structure a story and use technology to create a short video.
Please note: this course will involve sharing aspects of our personal stories within a group and requires students to have a smartphone/tablet/laptop which they can use for making their video story. Please call us on 01865 779 613 if you’d like to have a chat about this course before signing up.
Food Memoir Writing (3-part course)
This course supports students to write a short memoir about a favourite meal or recipe. Memoir writing helps us process and gain a new perspective on past events. It also helps us to build a stronger sense of self-identity, and a sense of identity is a key element in recovery. Please note this course involves talking about our relationship to food which can bring up strong emotions. This is a three-part course and students will be invited to share a written memoir with the group if they would like to.
Thinking about a New Role (3-part course)
This course is suitable for anyone thinking about taking on a new role in the future, whether it’s starting employment or changing job, starting to volunteer or taking on new responsibilities. This course focuses on building confidence to take steps forward in a new direction. This is a stand-alone course though other courses in the Employment series may be of interest to students.
Wellbeing at Work (3-part course)
This course explores what can support or hinder our wellbeing in the workplace, and strategies to manage our wellbeing better. This course is suitable for any student thinking about entering or going back into the workplace (voluntary or paid) or returning to work after a period of absence, or students who are currently in work but considering how to better support their wellbeing. You do not need to feel ready to go back to work soon to benefit from this course.
Eat Well, Be Active, Stay Motivated (3-part course)
This brand-new course aims to cover how maintaining our physical wellbeing, eating well and findings ways to stay motivated can contribute to better mental health. We will consider realistic and achievable ways in which we can stay motivated to eat well and be active in our daily lives. We aim to guide students through the process of setting up their own personal ‘goals’ or ‘intentions’, before proposing a short challenge to put those in a test in a safe and supportive environment. Each part of the course will cover each of these topics individually; armed with that knowledge, together we will think about how we can best apply what we learn and discuss into our everyday, living in a meaningful, sustainable and hopefully enjoyable way.
Introduction to Mindfulness (2-part course)
What is Mindfulness? How does it work? Who is it for? This course will cover all of these questions and much more. Our Introduction to Mindfulness sessions give students an overview and a felt experience of the core principles of mindfulness – the practice of bringing awareness to our present moment experience with kindness, rather than judgement. We explore the proven benefits of mindfulness, as well as advice about when it may not be so useful. Students will be provided with a toolkit of ideas for being more mindful in everyday life, as well as signposting information to discover more should they wish to.
Thinking about Thinking (3-part course)
This course is designed as an introduction to how we as individuals think about thinking, to help students explore and understand more about this subject. The way we habitually think (or “mentalisation”) has a major impact on our wellbeing and mental health. Identifying some common and potentially unhelpful thinking patterns and traps can help us to better understand and potentially adapt our thinking. The course is suitable for students with lived experience of mental health issues, and also anyone supporting or working with individuals who might find the concepts useful.
Boosting Confidence (2-part course)
How can we feel more confident? Mental ill-health often leads to a loss of confidence, making it difficult for people to get the most out of their lives. We appreciate that developing or re-gaining confidence is an important part of many people’s recovery, and this online course will help you to recognise your skills and provide practical help for you to work towards your next steps.
Nurturing Hope (2-part course)
This is a course for anyone keen to strengthen a sense of hope, whether you feel you are struggling to find hope at the moment, or if you feel like you have a small amount of hope but would like to increase it. We look at how we can define hope and how we can look for it using our five senses. We introduce the concept of making a hope Box. In Week 2, we explore how hope is related to reaching achievable goals and we share with each other things which inspire us.
5 Ways to Wellbeing (5-part course)
Our Five Ways to Wellbeing online course is a 5-part series. The course focuses on one of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing each week: Keep Learning, Give, Connect, Be Active, Take Notice. This course aims to highlight the benefits of incorporating the 5 Ways to Wellbeing into our lives. There will be space to share struggles and triumphs, with a focus on sharing top tips for learning within the group.
Understanding Mental Health (2-part course)
On this two-part online course, together we explore what is meant by ‘mental health’ and what good mental health looks like. We consider how mental health problems may be diagnosed, or understood as part of our life experiences. On this course we will also explore the meaning of recovery, and what support is available on our recovery journey.
Introduction to Recovery (2-part course)
On this two-part online course, we explore different perspectives about what recovery means. We will look at recovery from a personal perspective, and invite students to think about the things that might help or hinder recovery in themselves, people they work with, or their loved ones. We discuss the idea of recovery as a journey that is non-linear, and look at how different approaches to recovery can complement one another.
Creative Writing (4-part course)
Our online creative writing course provides a chance to think about and develop the use of creative skills to aid recovery. On this four-part course we will look at the effects and benefits that creative writing can have on our mental health, and how creativity can be a community activity, bringing people together to foster a sense of connection.
Adapting to Change (2-part course)
This two-part course is for anyone who would like to understand more about how we can adapt to change and identify some strategies which can help us build our emotional resilience. Few of us foresaw that 2020 would involve having to adapt our lives so rapidly to a “new normal” – which has included changing plans, managing our expectations, taking care of other people and living with uncertainty. We will discuss strategies for thinking about problems from different perspectives, how we can accept that some setbacks are inevitable and identify the strengths and skills we already have to face challenging circumstances.
Introduction to the Caring Role (1-part course)
This course will give an outline of the important role unpaid mental health carers play in providing care and support to their loved ones. The course will highlight some techniques for looking after yourself as a carer; explore the concept of the carer’s journey and look at carer’s right; and will provide practical tools for self-care and wellbeing.
Life on a Budget (2-part course)
Coping with Stress and Anxiety (2-part course)
This two-part course is for anyone who is keen to understand more about anxiety and stress and manage it better. During part one, we will explore and share examples of stressful and anxiety provoking triggers, feelings and stories. We will work in a group together to describe what stress and anxiety is and explore what our shared and unique reactions to it can be. We will also focus on identifying and testing out appropriate tools for coping with stress and anxiety. During part two of the course we will look at whether students have been able to try out any of the strategies explored in part one and discuss how we found them as a group. We also explore the concepts of re-framing and affirmations and try out some grounding exercises. There will be handouts and signposting provided after each course with different tips for coping with stress and anxiety.
Healthy Sleep (2-part course)
This two-part course is for anyone who is keen to improve their sleep and support their, or someone else’s, wellbeing. During part one of this course, together we will explore what healthy sleep is and discuss any current challenges to our sleep routine within the group. We will also explore some positive tips for improving sleep for students to try out. In part two, we will look in more depth at how sleep affects our mental health. We will discuss as a group what helps and hinders healthy sleep and have a look at further tips and techniques that students can try out. At the end of each part of the course, students will be sent round a signposting sheet which will go through tips and techniques discussed, as well as providing details of additional resources, websites and apps for you to try out.
If you have any further questions about any of the above courses, please don’t hesitate to contact the ORC Team on:
Email: contactorc@restore.org.uk
Telephone: 01865 779613