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Posted on 18 Dec 2017

A talking therapies service ran by Let’s Talk – Wellbeing in the Trust, funded as an Early Implementer site, is making a difference to the lives of people diagnosed with a long term condition in Broxtowe, with one patient saying:  “I can honestly say that this experience has improved my life.”

 

The service focuses on long term physical health conditions such as dermatological issues and diabetes and the psychological effects these can have on a person such as anxiety or depression. Trained therapists use a range of talking therapies which aim to reduce the impact of the emotional distress caused by their physical ill health, whilst helping them to better cope with their condition and manage symptoms.

 

Kelly McGrory, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, Let’s Talk – Wellbeing, said: “Changes in our physical health can cause increased stress and emotional upset, which can affect our mood and behaviour. When ill health is causing psychological problems, talking therapy can help people come to terms with their health as it is now but also think about what they can do to help improve both their physical and psychological wellbeing.”

 

David, a recent patient of Kelly’s said: “This has been such a positive experience. I encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to make the most of it.

 

“I have psoriasis and was looking for a way to address the root cause by managing stress and anxiety. I never classed myself as a person who has anxiety or mental health problems and I didn’t know what to expect.

 

“Therapy can be challenging as you explore and reflect on your experiences and perceptions but very quickly I found it empowering. I started to understand myself, my worries and developed tools to manage my anxiety. I learnt not to be scared of feeling anxious and in the safe environment of therapy learnt that I could quickly bring on, control and recover from feelings of anxiety.

 

“Kelly has been excellent. She is very supportive and used open and non-judgemental questions to help me explore the way I feel and come to my own conclusions. We planned and carried out real life experiments to disprove some fears I held and this has helped me feel more comfortable leading up to some situations.

 

“There is hard work outside of the therapy sessions and it doesn’t mean I don’t have worries or feel stress but I don’t fear it and I’m getting better at managing it. I can honestly say that this experience has improved my life.”

 

The service, which started in January 2017 and runs until March 2018, is commissioned by Nottingham West Clinical Commissioning Group and is for patients registered with a GP in the Broxtowe area. The service is being evaluated and may be rolled out to other areas across the City and County.

 

The Let’s Talk – Wellbeing service already offers support to people in Broxtowe with the following long term conditions: respiratory, cardiac, memory problems and those at risk of admission to hospital. This follows a previous successful pilot for these conditions.

 

The service can be contacted Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 5.00pm, on 0115 956 0888.