IT may come as no surprise that recent research carried out by mental health charity, Mind*, identified work as being the most stressful factor in people’s lives – with one in three people saying their work life was either very or quite stressful.
Perhaps more worryingly, workplace stress has resulted in seven per cent (rising to ten per cent amongst 18 to 24 year-olds) having suicidal thoughts and almost one in five people developing anxiety.
Historically, research in the field of mental health has focused primarily on mental ill-health rather than the full spectrum of mental well-being.
However, the growth of positive psychology in the late 20th century has shifted attention towards the importance of our positive thoughts, feelings and actions, as opposed to focusing on the negative.
Claire Edwards, of mental wellbeing organisation, resolve, believes that having a positive outlook can make all the difference to mental wellbeing and ultimately a happier outlook on life.
“If you are someone who tends to focus on what has gone or could go wrong at work or in your personal life rather than your successes, it can be very draining and affect your ability to deal with life’s knocks when they occur.”
resolve supports clients to overcome stress and improve their wellbeing. Claire explains: “Clients come to us individually and we also have a number of corporate clients who are keen to look after their workforce.
“We can draw upon a wide range of expertise to ensure that whoever we are working with, the support is personalised to be the best possible match for their needs.
“Our guided self-help service has proved to be very popular.
“It’s a practical, solution-driven approach based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and ultimately enables clients to challenge and overcome negative thoughts and feelings and develop coping strategies for managing their issues day to day.”
Guided self-help is effective for dealing with stress, depression and anxiety and has been proven to have higher success rate than someone accessing self-help materials themselves**.
Claire explains: “A trained psychologist guides the client through specially selected material, helping to keep them motivated and ensure they are receiving the full benefit of their expertise.
“The client then gets to keep the information so they can refer to them again in the future if needed.”
As well as guided self-help, resolve can provide other forms of CBT as well as counselling, coaching and training.
For further information please visit our website www.resolvescotland.org.uk or call us on 0131 718 6003.
ENDS
Notes for editors:
References
* Populus interviewed 2,060 adults aged 18+ in England and Wales, in work between 6-10 March 2013 http://www.mind.org.uk/news/show/8566_work_is_biggest_cause_of_stress_in_peoples_lives
** Guided Self-Help Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression in Primary Care: A Randomised Controlled Trial. Christopher Williams et al.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0052735
Background on resolve
resolve is a social enterprise and was set up by Health in Mind with funding from the Enterprise Growth Fund.
Health in Mind is a registered Scottish Charity with over thirty years of experience in providing a range of mental health and wellbeing services including information, support, training and talking therapies.
The Enterprise Growth Fund is a £6m Scottish Government Fund. The Fund is making strategic investments in ambitious and enterprising third sector organisations enabling them to develop, grow and become more sustainable. It supports third sector organisations to realise their full potential and to make a key contribution to the National Outcomes of the Scottish Government. The Enterprise Growth Fund is managed by the Wise Group with consortium partners CEiS, DSL and Social Value Lab.
MEDIA RELEASE posted by Health in Mind. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. For more information, email here.
Contact: Doreen Graham
Phone: 441312430137
Email: doreen@health-in-mind.org.uk
Website: http://www.resolvescotland.org.uk
