Services

Gloucestershire Health & Wellbeing College

We provide courses and workshops on health and wellbeing.

In this page

Through learning together, we provide the tools that can help you to build the skills and confidence to take control of your own health and wellbeing.

We know how closely linked physical and mental health are and how you can’t have one without the other. Our courses are tailored to consider different aspects of wellbeing.

The new College replaces the former Recovery College and Gloucestershire Self-Management.

Our courses

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mindfulness Workshop for Mental Health and Wellbeing

This is a face-to-face mindfulness course aimed at developing a helpful range of techniques which is designed to support you in your recovery journey.

The course takes an educational, rather than clinical, approach to mindfulness. This helps you to identify what works best for you through group learning and sharing with fellow students, peers and the tutor.

  • Tuesday 11 June 2024 1.30-3:30pm, The Friends Meeting House, Greyfriars, Southgate Street, Gloucester.  Closing date for applications is Tuesday, 14 May
Mindfulness Workshops for Carers

This course is open to carers who care for someone with a long-term physical health condition, or someone being supported by a secondary care Mental Health team.

Our face-to-face mindfulness course develops a helpful range of techniques designed to support you in managing your health and wellbeing.

  • Monday 3 June 2024 1.30-3:30pm at the Heritage at Gloucester Rugby, Kingsholm Road, Gloucester. Closing date for applications is Tuesday, 6 May
  • Monday 8 July 2024 1.30-3:30pm in the George Watson Hall, Tewkesbury. Closing date for applications is Monday, 10 June
Bitesize Steps to Recovery

This is an online course which looks at the CHIME recovery model to see how it can support you to live well with a mental health condition.
Each week we will cover a topic of the acronym CHIME, which stands for Connections, Hope, Identity, Meaning, and Empowerment.
This is a five-week course where you can learn skills and strategies to support recovery and to self-manage your condition.

Details of the next dates will follow shortly, in the meantime, to express interest or to find out more, email: ghwc@ghc.nhs.uk

Living with Anxiety, Depression and Psychosis

A face-to-face course aimed at sharing about these conditions, and how they can vary from person to person. Our peer support workers share their own experiences of how they manage these conditions day-to-day. Learn skills and techniques to support your own recovery and manage your condition to the best of your ability. The next available date is:

  • Wednesday 19 June for 4 weeks until Wednesday, 10 July, 1.30 – 3.30 at Hesters Way Community Resource Centre, Cheltenham. The closing date for applications is Wednesday, 22 May
Veterans Moving Forwards: Building a Brighter Future

This course is co-designed by veterans – for veterans and is aimed at providing you with the opportunity to gain clarity about your direction in life, develop tools and strategies to help you commit to action and make progress towards your brighter future.

The course is split into six, three-hour modules, run over six consecutive weeks and will provide you with tools and techniques to help you navigate life’s challenges and implement positive change as well as helping to improve your own wellbeing.

Course highlights include:

  • understanding the impact of your military service on your current situation
  • gaining perspective and clarity about your life’s direction
  • and sustaining positive change.

The next scheduled offering of the Veterans Moving Forward course will run from:

  • 8 April to 20 May every Monday from 10am to 3pm, for six consecutive weeks at St Paul’s Medical Centre in Cheltenham (with a break on 6 May Bank Holiday).

Our Gloucestershire Health and Wellbeing College staff and peers have been trained by Help for Heroes to deliver this course. For more information, or to register for this course, contact: ghwc@ghc.nhs.uk or phone: 0300 421 1623

Creative Course

An arts and crafts course for all, from beginners to those with more experience. No artistic drawing skills required!

Are you interested in using art as part of your routine? Would you like to learn some new skills in a supportive environment? Come and explore how participating in arts and crafts activities could support your recovery. We will be introducing a new activity each week to give you an opportunity to try a range of mediums and techniques.

  • 28 June 2024 for 4 weeks until Friday, 19 July at the Heritage at Gloucester Rugby, Kingsholm Road, Gloucester. Closing date for applications is Friday, 31 May.
Recovery Through Activity

A face-to-face course which explores the value of activity on wellbeing. It looks at the relationship between wellbeing and the activities we need, want and are expected to do in our everyday lives and how mental illness impacts this.

It involves discussion regarding the topic of the week and is designed to be fun and informal; looking at strengths and knowledge as well as areas people might like to work on. The course is facilitated by an occupational therapist and peer support workers who have lived experience.

  • 4 June 2024 for 4 weeks until 25 June at The Main Place, Old Station Way, Coleford. The closing date for applications is 7 May

Bespoke courses for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Teams

Laurel House and Honeybourne Unit Art Project

Using the concept of the Tree of Life, we use a variety of arts and crafts techniques to create our own trees that represent ourselves and our recovery journey.

We take a strength-based and recovery-focused approach to think about ourselves and our lives as more than our mental health challenges. No art or drawing skills required, just a willingness to be creative. 

  • 17 May 2024 for 4 weeks until Friday, 7 June (time tbc).Closing date for applications is 19 April

Physical health courses

Live Better to Feel Better

This is a friendly and interactive course delivered by people with lived experience of long-term physical health conditions. Learn techniques to help manage your condition such as techniques to help with relaxation, managing pain and fatigue, getting a good night’s sleep, problem solving, managing low mood, communication tips, being active and more. This is a seven-week online course.

  • 1 May for 7 weeks until Wednesday, 12 June 1.30-3pm. Closing date for applications is Wednesday, 3 April.
  • 4 June for 7 weeks until Tuesday, 16 July. Closing date for applications is Tuesday, 7 May.
Mindfulness Workshop for Physical Health

Our face-to-face mindfulness course develops a helpful range of techniques designed to support you in managing your health. The course takes an educational, rather than clinical, approach to mindfulness. This helps you to identify what works best for you, both through group learning and sharing with other students and the tutor.

  • 9 July 2024 1.30-3:30pm, The Friends Meeting House, Greyfriars, Southgate Street, Gloucester. Closing date for applications is Tuesday, 11 June.

 

Our courses are co-produced; this means we invite individuals with lived experience of mental and physical health conditions to work alongside our clinical staff to design the course content. The courses are always delivered by a peer support worker or facilitator and sometimes a clinician. Peer support workers are people who have lived experience of mental health challenges or a physical health condition to help others experiencing similar situation. We are all constantly learning from each other.

For all our courses, you will need to be aged 18 or over and registered with a Gloucestershire GP. 

Our mental health courses are open to those who are  receiving  care from a secondary mental health team.

This includes the Recovery Team, GRiP, Eating Disorders, Young Adults Team, Later Life, Perinatal Mental Health or Assertive Outreach Teams.

To apply for any of our courses, complete an enrolment form or ask a member of your clinical team to do so for you.

Physical health courses are open to those living with long-term health conditions such as diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, COPD, heart conditions, asthma, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME and arthritis and long COVID.

We offer:

  • support for individual learning needs
  • bespoke work with clinical teams – please contact us if there a course you would like to us to coproduce and deliver for your service!
  • online and face-to-face courses – we provide support and access to technology to attend an online course.
  • a countywide service – running courses in GHC and community venues
  • one-off workshops and longer courses

All courses are open to GHC colleagues and carers are welcome to attend if supporting someone under GHC services.

How to enrol on a course

For all our courses, you will need to be aged 18 or over and registered with a Gloucestershire GP.

To apply for any of our courses, complete an enrolment form or ask a member of your clinical team to do so.

Our mental health courses are open to those who are currently receiving or have in the last year received, care from a secondary mental health team in the last year. This includes the Recovery Team, GRiP, Eating Disorders, Perinatal or Assertive Outreach Teams.

Our physical health courses are open to those who have long-term health conditions.

Veterans courses are open to those who have served ay amount of time in the armed forces, associated with the military, a spouse, carer or adult child.

Please get in touch if you wish to clarify if you are eligible to attend or to register or call: 0300 421 4414 

Support in attending courses

We understand it may feel daunting to attend a course, which is why we offer both face-to-face and online courses. We take an informal approach to the course delivery and there an opportunity to speak with one of the course facilitators before the course starts.

Please let us know if you would like an opportunity to try out using the technology for online courses in advance. We understand that some students may find it difficult to actively participate especially at the start, and that’s ok!  Carers are also welcome to attend should this be helpful.

Meet the team

Our friendly GHWC team is made up of staff from health or clinical backgrounds, peer support workers, peer facilitators and administrators. The college is also supported by Expert by Experience who get involved in projects, course planning and delivery on an informal basis.  When you contact us, we will help providing further information about the college and the courses, the enrolment process, if you are a clinician we can discuss how we can potentially support your team. 

Erin

Erin is one of our peer facilitators for our Live Better to Feel Better Programme and she supports courses and teaches self-management skills to those living with long-term health conditions.

Holly

Holly is the College Manager and Occupational Therapist she worked in Working Age and Older Age inpatient settings before joining the College. She is passionate about supporting others to reach their potential, and how peer led education can have such a positive influence on helping those with their recovery and or to live well with their long-term health conditions.

Feedback

“It was a really good experience. It reinforced my strengths, positive life choices and lifestyle, and has enabled me to move forward.”

“Fantastic courses run by very welcoming, knowledgeable and experienced facilitators. They created a supportive, nurturing and safe environment.”

“I have gained new ways in which to deal with my long- term condition and, crucially, the permission to do and be what I need when I need it.  I can’t emphasise enough how important that aspect is.  It is liberating. Thank you all so very, very much.  You imbued a good atmosphere for all participants making it feel safe to share intimately.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need to pay for the courses?

No all of our courses are free of charge.

How is the Health and Wellbeing College different to any other college?

The college differs from a traditional education college by delivering courses which enable students to learn how to manage a health condition.

Can I attend an online course without a digital device or access to the internet?

We do not want anyone to feel excluded from an online course due to not having digital access or digital skills, therefore we will be happy to work with you to provide you with the support you need to access our courses.

What additional support can you provide?

We are happy to accommodate additional needs where possible, whether it is accessible buildings, large print format for materials, support with communication or writing and reading. As long as you can tell us in advance, we will do our best to be adaptable and supportive.

How do you define a long-term health condition?

Long-term conditions can include diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, COPD, heart conditions, asthma, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME and arthritis.

Contact us

E-mail:

Telephone:

0300 421 4414 

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