Mindfulness for Health and Wellbeing

Learning mindfulness and compassion can help with feelings of anxiety, depression and self-judgements that often arise with – or are complicated by – health conditions.

Mindfulness for Health and Wellbeing is an eight-week course that can help you cope with the stress of living with pain or other health conditions.

Mindfulness involves learning to be aware of what you are experiencing in a friendly and non-judgmental way. This helps us to see more clearly what we need and how to respond skilfully rather than in a reactive or habitual way.

“I feel better in myself. Calmer. Less stressed. More in control. Less emotional tension. Feeling more peaceful and happy with life.”

“It has helped greatly in keeping myself more calm and coping better with situations.”

The course we offer is based on Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which is known to help with the stress of physical health conditions as well as emotional struggles such as depression, anxiety or eating disorders.

It involves eight, weekly two-hour sessions and incorporates mindfulness meditation, teaching about mindfulness, discussion, and help with home practice.

It is not a therapy group, which means that the focus is on learning mindfulness rather than sharing personal histories; however, the group is extremely supportive for many people.

“I really appreciated the other group members – everyone was very supportive. It made me feel not so isolated and that was very beneficial.”

Learning mindfulness on a course involves a personal commitment to daily practice; it is important that you have enough time and stability to attend the course so that you can get the most out of it.

The course can be accessed by adults (16+) who are eligible for referral to Clinical Health Psychology at Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust. This currently includes:

• Bariatric Surgery
• Cancer (including relatives)
• Cardiac and heart failure
• Chronic pain
• COPD
• Diabetes
• HIV
• Palliative care (including relatives)
• Renal (including relatives)

Referrals to Clinical Health Psychology can be made by health professionals such as doctors, nurse specialists or GPs using the departmental referral form.

Sometimes the course is offered as part of a patient’s pain management plan, or after hearing about the course at a cardiac or diabetes educational group.

What happens after a referral is made?

You will receive a letter asking you to opt in to the service by telephone or by post. If you are not seeking one-to-one therapy, you will then be invited to an initial one-to-one appointment to discuss your needs and consider whether the course is right for you.

Sometimes it isn’t the right time or a person may need to access therapy to deal with difficulties such as trauma or bereavement first. We can also signpost people to appropriate services which might better suit their needs.

All participants are invited to a group orientation session approximately two weeks before the start of the course.

This will help them make a final decision on whether the course is for them, and will help them feel clearer about what to expect, and meet the other participants and clinicians who will be teaching on the course.

• Resources for course participants
• Mindful Compassion Workshops – Living With and Beyond Cancer (for patients, carers and relatives)
  

• www.franticworld.com
• www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness
• www.palousemindfulness.com
• www.bemindful.co.uk
• www.mbct.co.uk
• www.bemindful.co.uk
• www.oxfordmindfulness.org

• Headspace – subscription
• Insight Timer (look for the above mindfulness and compassion teachers) – free
• Buddhify – one-off fee
• Calm – subscription
• Smiling Mind – free

General mindfulness

Finding Peace in a Frantic World, Mark Williams and Danny Penman
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness and health

Full Catastrophe Living. How to Cope with Stress, Pain and lllness using Mindfulness Meditation, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness for Health, Vidyamala Birch and Danny Penman
Mindfulness: A Kindly Approach to Being with Cancer, Trish Bartley

Please see the AccessAble pages on the Psychology department at St Luke’s Hospital.

Our talented and compassionate staff care for a diverse population, making Bradford a special place to work. Choosing the right people is key to our success.

If you think you’ve got what it takes to join Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, please email careers@bthft.nhs.uk to discover more about our latest exciting opportunities.

COVID-19 has brought great uncertainty and worry into many of our lives, and it is important that we do the best that we can to take care of our emotional well-being.

Mindfulness teachers across the world are generously making resources available online and creating ways for people to connect and practice together.  This is one way that some people might find support and guidance at this challenging time.

A selection of links to online practices and resources which are open to anyone who may find them helpful are available here.

We are a team of clinical psychologists who are trained to teach mindfulness courses: Dr Kate Ryder, Dr Jaime Wood.

We all work in line with UK Good Practice Guidelines.

Courses are always led by two clinicians and run approximately three times a year. We have run Mindfulness for Health and Wellbeing courses since 2013.

More information on the Trust’s Clinical Health Psychology Department is available here.

If you would like any further information about Clinical Health Psychology please contact the department between 8am and 5pm, Monday – Friday. Please leave a message on our answerphone if you are calling outside these times.

Address
Clinical Health Psychology
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Bradford
West Yorkshire
BD5 ONA

Patient enquiries
Telephone: 01274 365176
Fax: 01274 365177
Email: psychology@bthft.nhs.uk

We use the BT text relay service for patients who are deaf or hearing impaired. To contact us ring 18001 01274 365176.

You can get a feel for what learning mindfulness involves through listening to meditations or reading a book about mindfulness. Listen to a breathing space here.

• Mindfulness for Health and Wellbeing
• Exploring the Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Courses for People with Physical Health Conditions
• Clinical Health Psychology Referral Form