Bespoke Members
Introduction
Despite the recent media attention, there is considerable uncertainty, as well as polarised views, about what to expect and what can help women during the menopause transition. Women's experience of menopause varies widely, being shaped by social meanings, life adversity, general health, beliefs and expectations, as well as the severity and duration of symptoms and hormonal changes. In daily practice psychological therapists are likely to see many women who are seeking help for anxiety, depression or other physical/emotional problems, who are peri or postmenopausal. The workshop will provide evidence-based information about menopause using a biopsychosocial framework. The 2024 NICE guidance on menopause, recommends that health professionals offer cognitive behaviour therapy as an option for vasomotor symptoms, depressed mood and sleep problems. Participants will learn practical lifestyle and CBT strategies from the evidence-based MENOS CBT protocol, that can be incorporated into clinical practice, and will hopefully feel more confident discussing menopause and helping women to understand their experience in order to make informed treatment choices.
The event will be equivalent to 2hrs of CPD.
Content
The workshop will include four main sessions:
1. Knowledge and awareness of menopause, biopsychosocial model and NICE guidance 2024
2. Menopause and mental health
3. CBT for menopausal symptoms based on the Menos protocol
4. Implementation - putting it into practice
Within the sessions there will be opportunities to learn about the social and historical narratives about menopause and to reflect on your own experiences and views. We will cover biomedical, biopsychosocial and cultural perspectives and how these interact, using research and clinical examples. There will be a focus on helpful ways to talk about menopause, acknowledging the considerable variation in experiences and preferences for treatments should they be needed. NICE guidance 2024 recommendations will be discussed as they relate to menopause hormone therapy, lifestyle approaches and psychological therapies, in particular CBT and mindfulness. The Menos CBT protocol includes strategies for reducing the impact of vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and night sweats), stress and sleep problems – symptoms which in combination often lead women to seek help. The protocol is evidence-based and can be offered in self-help and group formats, with published guides and group treatment manual. Participants will be taken through key elements of the protocol, with exercises and case examples. The final session will be a brief update on how the recommendations are being implemented the UK and globally, and a Q&A relating to how you might implement what has been covered in clinical practice.
Learning Objectives
• To increase knowledge and awareness of menopause
• To understand relationships between menopause and mental health
• To introduce cognitive behaviour therapy for menopausal symptoms
• To consider how you might implement this in your clinical practice
Training Modalities
Presentation and Q&A, case examples, video, and polls.
Key References
Hickey M, Hunter MS, Santoro, N. & Ussher, J. Normalising Menopause, BMJ 2022; 377: e069369.
Hickey M, LaCroix AZ, Doust J, Mishra GD, Sivakami M, Garlick D, Hunter MS. Menopause 1. An empowerment model for managing menopause. Lancet 2024; 403: 947–57.
Hunter MS, Smith M. Living Well through the Menopause. Overcoming Series, Robinson UK (2021).
Hunter MS and Smith M. Managing hot flushes and night sweats: a manual for health professionals. Routledge (2015).
Hunter MS and Smith M. Managing hot flushes and night sweats: a cognitive behavioural self-help guide to the menopause. Routledge, 2nd edition (2021).
Hunter MS & Chilcot J. Is cognitive behaviour therapy an effective option for women who have troublesome menopausal symptoms? Brit J Health Psychol. 2021, 26, 3, 697-708.
About the presenter
Myra S Hunter, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Health Psychology at King’s College London, has worked as a clinician and researcher in the area of women’s health for over 40 years. She has developed and evaluated cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions for physical and emotional problems, in women’s health, oncology and cardiology. Her work has shown that CBT can effectively reduce the impact of menopausal symptoms on women’s lives. She was Advisor to the Core Development Group for NICE Guidance on Menopause 2015, and a member of the Menopause Clinical Reference Group NHS England. She has published over 200 journal articles and 10 books and her research on menopause has established her as an international expert in the field.
Who should attend
The workshop is suitable for health professionals who are interested to know more about the menopause and who are delivering information, advice or psychological therapies. Health professionals might include (but not only) primary care low and high intensity practitioners, psychologists, nurse therapists, counsellors, as well as psychiatrists, occupational therapists, social workers and doctors. Practitioners may work in adult primary or secondary care or other specialist services.