Trauma can be any distressing or threatening event or series of events that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. You may have experienced it directly or witnessed or heard about it happening to someone else.
This PDF guides you through what trauma is and the impact it has.
The programme provides online access to a 12-week weight management programme which is designed to be personally tailored to support you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. As a digital programme, it can be used anywhere, allowing you to complete the programme in your own time, at a pace that works for you. It can be tough to make changes, but with this digital programme you can take control of your weight and help reduce the risk of ill health, all in your own time, at your own pace.
It is free for all NHS staff.
When experiencing difficult emotions, it can be helpful to imagine a ‘special place’ which gives you a feeling of calm and safety.
This PDF guides you through how to do this.
Stressful situations, such as the pandemic, armed conflict or refugee crises, and other reminders of upsetting memories can all contribute to PTSD symptoms re-emerging. These can be difficult to experience, but there are things you can do to cope. This easy-to-read infographic developed by the Traumatic Stress Clinic covers key symptoms and summarises things you can do to cope.
Working our way down the body, tensing and relaxing each muscle can help us manage anxious thoughts and calm a worry mind. It can also help with getting a restful night sleep.
This PDF guides you through how to use this technique.
People often experience sleep problems and have nightmares after traumatic experiences. Nightmares
can be similar to flashbacks and are often caused by being reminded of the traumatic events either during the day or at night.
This easy-to-read infographic developed by the Traumatic Stress Clinic summarises key things you can do to cope with nightmares and get a more restful night sleep.
Grounding techniques use the five senses to connect you with the present and move your attention away from what’s going on in your mind. You can use them when you feel overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings.
This easy-to-read infographic from the Traumatic Stress Clinic guides you through practical advice on how to use grounding techniques to cope when you feel overwhelmed.
Flashbacks are upsetting memories that come back to you unexpectedly in vivid images, sounds, smells…
They can make you feel as if you are re-living the trauma. Dissociation can happen when you feel so overwhelmed by a traumatic experience that you may lose touch with where you are or may feel unreal. This PDF guides you through how to cope with both flashbacks and dissociation.
Controlled breathing, also called square breathing, can be helpful when feeling stressed, as it helps to
slow the breathing down.
This easy-to-read infographic from the Traumatic Stress Clinic guides you through practical steps to to control your breathing to help you cope when you feel stressed.
Our latest free interactive webinar!
We know that instances of aggressive behavior towards staff in health & social care have increased throughout the pandemic. KeepingWell NCL’s wellbeing webinar is an essential top-up for health & care staff. It builds staff and teams’ psychological understanding of why these incidents can occur, and what is needed for teams and individuals to manage these incidents when they do.
This interactive session builds practical strategies for prevention, de-escalation and support. We consider policy, reporting, peer support, and making time for discussion after incidents. It will also provide a reflective space to connect through discussion of shared experiences – of the varied interactions between patients, their carers, and health & care staff across North Central London.
This is a free event for all staff working in health & care in North Central London.
About the presenters:
Panos Vythoulkas is a KeepingWell Hub Senior Practitioner and Clinical Psychologist. After training abroad, Panos moved to the UK to work in the NHS. Over the past 5 years he has worked in various settings across North Central London in Adult Primary and Secondary Care Mental Health, including Perinatal Psychology Services. Panos started his NHS career in Forensic Mental Health, and has an interest workplace wellbeing and safety, and supporting staff and teams dealing with the immediate aftermath of an incident.
Dr Livia Ottisova is a Clinical Psychologist in the KeepingWell NCL Complex Trauma Pathway. She has specialised in working with survivors of trauma and human rights violations across varied settings. She previously worked with survivors of domestic violence and other human rights abuses in the Camden & Islington Traumatic Stress Clinic, and currently works as the Lead of the Waltham Forest Refugee Psychological Therapies Service alongside her role in the Complex Trauma Pathway. Since the Covid-19 pandemic she has been closely involved in research and training to support frontline health and social care professionals.
Keeping Well NCL is a wellbeing and mental health project that connects and supports the North Central London health and social care workforce during the Coronavirus outbreak.
