Training In CBT & Other Evidence-Based Psychological Therapies
Introduction
Distress is a universal human experience and can manifest in many ways. Working in mental health services will often involve being with, and responding to, people in distress. Responding to distress in a way that reduces the intensity of the emotion, rather than escalating it, is a core competence of our roles, yet is often overlooked in our professional training.
This Being with Distress webinar is designed to help people deliver relationally informed approaches to working with distress, not specific to any theory or diagnostic label.
The event will be equivalent to 2.3/4 hrs of CPD.
Content
This webinar provides a space to think about how we learn to understand and manage the intensity of our emotions and how we might best respond to acute distress in others. Some sources of distress have a potential solution, or solutions, that can be implemented to alleviate distress. Other sources of distress have no immediate solution that will change the way you feel. Different situations may call for different type of responses.
• ‘Doing’ responses are goal-oriented responses (e.g. advice giving, problem-solving, signposting to services)
• ‘Being’ responses focus on accepting or allowing (e.g. listening, summarising, reflecting, validating)
Sometimes you might feel under pressure to do something to alleviate a patient’s distress, particularly when you are employed in a role to ‘help’. This can lead us to take a task-focused or problem-solving approach, which can sometimes escalate the distress. You will know that a ‘doing’ response is the incorrect response very quickly, as the person is likely to become more distressed. In situations where emotional intensity is high, this webinar will consider when and how to implement a ‘being’ response.
Learning Objectives
The session will:
• Promote an understanding of distress as a common human experience.
• Promote the importance of relationally informed approaches to help manage distress.
• Develop a set of tools for responding to distress that are not specific to any particular diagnosis, using language that is not specific to any theory or therapeutic model.
• Assist in knowledge and skill building for working with, responding to & reducing distress.
Training Modalities
Didactic content, experiential exercises, polls, Q&A.
Key References
About the presenter
Rachel is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust and Associate Director of Therapies for CAMHS and Adult Learning Disability services in Durham & Tees Valley. In her twenty-year career in the NHS, Rachel has worked in child and adolescent mental health services and paediatric psychology services, but her predominant experience is in adult mental health services. She has also worked as a Clinical Tutor on the University of Edinburgh doctorate in Clinical Psychology Programme.
Prior to taking up her current role, Rachel was the Personality & Relational lead across Durham & Darlington adult mental health services. Within this role she led on the community mental health transformation agenda for service users with complex mental health difficulties associated with the diagnosis of personality disorder.
Who should attend
This event is suitable for anyone who ever encounters other people in distress. The theory and the skills covered are applicable to responding to distress in both our personal and professional lives.