Below are SOME of the training sessions that have so far been provided by Stop Paddling. These are given as examples to help clients discuss their needs with us. From these discussions a tailored workshop or programme can be created to ensure the best possible use of the clients time and the maximum longest lasting benefit for participants.
Balance > Living a Balanced Life
You may have heard of work-life balance but there is more to learn if you are to have confidence about remaining balanced in the modern world. Participants gain a new view of the important balances in their lives and how these maintain good mental health. Employers will be left in no doubt that well balanced employees are more productive.
Bipolar > Introduction to Bipolar Disorder
How Bipolar Are You?): Considering that 7% of the population may be bipolar with approximately 1% being diagnosed and taking medication to control the condition, this may be a question well worth thinking about. This session allows participants to consider this privately or to share their own experiences. Some people benefit from the realisation that they may be at greater risk of illness than they thought whilst others benefit from the understanding they gain which in the long term can help them help others.
Food > Change Your Food and Change Your Mood
It is well known that our moods are very dependent on what we eat and drink. Most people already have a reasonable understanding of what makes them feel good or not so good. This session is based on a scientific view of food and mood in a very colourful style. As well as the Powerpoint and/or flip chart exercises there is the opportunity to read the packaging and eat a range of foods to gain a better appreciation of concepts such as glyceamic index. The benefit to the delegate should be better mood control and thereby a better chance of reaching an ideal weight. The benefit to the employer is simply healthier staff!
For most people, most days are pretty much the same as the day before. Most people have dreams that things are going to be different but their reality is that things barely change. Participants are given the tools to challenge the way things are in their minds, recognise their dreams and start to make them come true. During the session participants will do some work on their own, then later work in pairs agreeing very specific actions which if they wish can monitored by Stop Paddling in the weeks following the course. Participants are encouraged to report on the effectiveness of what they have learnt and the progress made on the chosen actions. This session is ideal for anyone wanting improve themselves and to make a big difference to the world around them.
Recovery > Wellness Recovery Action Planning
Can the techniques taught to people who have suffered mental distress be taught to anyone? What would be the value of such training? The answers are Yes and the benefits can be huge as the principles and practices of recovery can be applied in so many ways whatever crisis you may face. The concepts are easy to grasp and the only essential qualification for attending such a course is the realisation that we are all to some extent at risk of stress related illnesses. The course can help participants to avoid serious mental health problems. Those with limited experience of mental distress will also gain as the course will help with relating to friends, relatives and work colleagues who may have been suffering.
Stress > Understanding Pressure and Stress
Pressure, stress and mood are examined from a different perspective allowing participants to explore the perhaps alien idea that ALL stress is bad. Knowing this, they can begin to focus on having healthy amounts of pressure in their lives to achieve the mood they want for themselves and their workplace.
Participants from Stop Paddling courses are often asking for `one to one support' beyond that offered by regular email contact and group activities.
This structured programme of advice is designed for people wanting to really understand what stress is all about, and who are prepared to make significant changes that will free them from a life plagued by stress.
Support > Support & Networking
Individuals depend on relationships with other individuals but success depends on how everyone is relating to everyone else in your life or at your place of work. This short workshop allows networking to be looked at from a different perspective and gives everyone a chance to build or perhaps rebuild their own support networks.
This is the original Stop Paddling course, first presented in 2000. It stems from health professionals often not being able to explain stress and the link to mental illness in a concise way that can be fully appreciated by those at risk or in a way that might aid people in the early stages of recovery.
Our Futures:
This course was originally delivered in 6 parts from December 2005 to March 2006, by two facilitators. Tailored for the needs of staff who are preparing for new futures due to a redundancy process. Some elements of some of the above courses are used alongside unique material. The objective is to have members of this group face the future with greater confidence.
Bipolar workshops / Stress advice workshops
061008