What To Expect When You Call Care First? – Care First Webinar Mon 18th July at 12pm

Posted on July 18, 2022 by rfj

When you connect to the helpline, the counsellor will provide ‘in the moment’ support to help with the issue you have contacted Care first for. Throughout the session the counsellor will assess your situation and what support is most clinically appropriate for you. There are a number of different possible outcomes. The examples below will give you an idea of how your call may be handled.

Outcome 1 – Your initial call with the counsellor will provide you with the support you need ‘in the moment’ and no further support is recommended.
Outcome 2 – During your session with the counsellor they may recommend addition sessions of counselling on the telephone, video or face to face.
Outcome 3 – It may be that the reasons you have contacted us are more appropriately supported by one of our support partners or an alternative service. In this case, the counsellor may refer you to a charity or specialist organisation that work with the specific issue you called about, or refer you on to another service that can offer you the most clinically suitable support for what you are going through. This may include your GP or alternative NHS services.
Finally – they will assure you that no matter what route you take you can still always use the helpline for any ‘in the moment’ support you may need at any time of the day.

If you need practical advice from one of our Telephone Information Specialists (TIS) they will support you as soon as you contact the service and provide you with any information you may need. Care first Telephone Information Specialists are available 8am-8pm Monday- Friday.

All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support. Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.

If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Your counselling call to Care first’ this is being delivered live on Monday 18th July 2022 at 12pm, please use the below link to register for this session –

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7914658954752760077

If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.

Below are some example scenarios and a breakdown of how Care first would support each situation. It is however important to highlight that each case is supported on a case by case basis and what may be clinically appropriate to support one client’s situation may not be suitable for another individual –

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Staff Wellbeing Yammer Channel

Posted on July 14, 2022 by rfj

Thought it was time to re-share on our health and wellbeing Did You Know news page that we also have a Staff Wellbeing Yammer channel: Yammer – Staff Wellbeing

It is an open network for all staff. Please join to hear about wellbeing events and initiatives at the University. You can post any regular or upcoming wellbeing activities that you organise locally within your Division or Teams across the University.

For further information on Staff Wellbeing please access these websites: Staff Health & Wellbeing and Staff Mental Health Support One Stop Shop

All staff are welcome

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Tips For A Good Night’s Sleep – Care First Webinar Friday 15th July 2022 at 12pm

Posted on July 14, 2022 by rfj

Focusing on sleeping well can bring many positive benefits to our overall wellbeing. Good quality sleep is critical to both our physical and mental health and the effective functioning of our immune system. It also aids our emotional wellness and can have positive impacts on stress, depression, and anxiety.

You may have suffered from Insomnia before or had sleeping problems long-term, or perhaps you are experiencing difficulty with sleeping throughout the warm, summer months. The Sleep Foundation advises that the challenges which may cause an adverse effect to our sleep include:

  • Disruption to our daily life and usual routines
  • Anxiety and worry
  • Depression and Isolation
  • Family and Work stress
  • Excess screen time
  • Stress-related fatigue

Understanding sleep:

Sleep expert Dr Lindsay Browning explains that sleep is controlled by our circadian rhythm, which is our internal 24 hour clock. This helps us be alert during the day and sleepy at night. It is usually regulated by daily cues such as exposure to daylight, when we eat our meals, when we exercise and other things. When we stay indoors for a long period of time, we lose many of these cues. For example, if we do not go outside to get daylight, we risk making our circadian rhythm less robust. Also, if we are not as physically active during the day and eating our meals at different times, our circadian rhythm may not know the difference between day and night as clearly. In addition, when we experience depression, this can be associated with insomnia (not sleeping well) or hypersomnia (sleeping too much).

Establishing a routine:

It can be particularly difficult to maintain a routine during the summer months when the days get longer as there is a delay in melatonin release so our body clock is not receiving the signal that it is time to sleep until later in the evening. It is therefore really important to ensure that we establish a routine to give our bodies a sense of normality, which in turn can promote a consistent sleep schedule. Sleep-specific aspects of your daily schedule should include:

  • Wake-Up Time: Set your alarm, avoid using the snooze button and have a fixed time to start each day.
  • Wind-Down Time: This is an important time to relax and get ready for bed. It can involve things like light reading, stretching, and meditating along with preparations for bed like putting on pyjamas and brushing your teeth.
  • Bedtime: Pick a consistent time to actually turn out the lights and try to fall asleep.

Follow these basic tips for getting a good night’s sleep throughout summer:

  • Keep your room temperature low – Your bedroom should be kept for rest and sleep. It should be neither too hot, nor too cold, and as quiet and dark as possible. During summer, keep windows open throughout the day and blinds closed to keep your bedroom cool. Using lightweight fabrics such as thin pyjamas and bed sheets to keep you cooler throughout the summer months.
  • Reduce your exposure to light during the day – helps your body prepare for sleep, particularly in the evening.
  • Darken your room before bed – promotes a more peaceful sleep but you should ensure there is a bit of light in the mornings to allow your body clock to wake you up naturally.
  • Keep regular hours – Going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time, all the time, will programme your body to sleep better.
  • Take more exercise (where possible) – Regular exercise outside during the summer months can help with both your mental and physical state. You can go for walks or perhaps complete a home workout in the garden to relieve the day’s stresses and strains. But not too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake!
  • Cut down on stimulants and avoid smoking – such as caffeine in tea or coffee. in the evening. They interfere with falling asleep and prevent deep sleep. Smokers take longer to fall asleep and wake up more often.
  • Don’t over-indulge – Too much food or alcohol, especially late at night just before bedtime, can play havoc with sleep patterns.
  • Try to relax before going to bed – Listen to some quiet music or do some yoga to help relax your mind and body.
  • Make jobs lists – Deal with worries or a heavy workload by making lists of things to be tackled the next day.
  • Switch off devices at least an hour before bed – Many people are also affected by the blue light emitted from laptops, tablets and smartphones which can make it harder to get to sleep when used before bed.
  • If you can’t sleep – don’t spend more than 20 minutes trying to get to sleep; get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again – then go back to bed.

If you are experiencing problems sleeping and feel you may need some support, you can contact Care first. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support. Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.

Useful links for more tips and information:

More Information

If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Tips for a good night’s sleep’ this is being delivered live on Friday 15th July at 12pm, please use the following link to register for this session –

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6960747955081240334

If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.

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How Care First Can Support You – Care First Webinar Weds 13th July 2022 at 12pm

Posted on July 13, 2022 by rfj

Counselling support

Our team of professionally trained, qualified and BACP Accredited Counsellors are available 24/7 to offer support for personal or workplace related issues. As well as the headline issues surrounding mental health, our Care first counsellors are also trained in dealing with both work and home grievances, bullying & harassment issues, domestic violence, relationships at both home and at work and much more. No matter how big or small the problem may be, our counsellors are here for you to provide you with unbiased support away from the situation. Everyone has very individual needs for support, Care first provides short term focussed counselling, so the Care first Counsellor will assess your circumstances when you call to establish what the most appropriate form of support will be for you. It might be that you just need a brief conversation with the Counsellor that day, or you may benefit from a few more sessions.

Information Specialists

As control, or the lack of it, can be an influencing factor on the impact of stress. Many individuals identify stress as emotional, however, a lack of control around practical issues can be just as impactful. We have expert advisors that have been trained by Citizens Advice who can provide you with comprehensive answers and assistance on a wide range of practical issues which can affect our daily life, these include but are not limited to; redundancy, advice on funerals and probate, legal information, housing and tenancy issues, childcare, eldercare, health, consumer issues, employment, travel and education. Our Information Specialists are also money trained experts and can provide support with a variety of financial queries such as help with budgeting finances and advice with benefits. You can speak with one of our Information Specialists confidentially Monday-Friday between 8am-8pm.

Management Support

If you are a manager, have leadership responsibilities, or look after a team within your organisation, it is as important as ever that your colleagues are made aware of the range of support available from Care first. As well as supporting you to signpost your colleagues to the Care first service effectively to maintain your managerial boundaries, Care first can also provide you with support within your role as a manager. Care first Counsellors are all management trained and can provide support with issues such as if the organisation is going through a period of redundancy, managing change and difficult conversations, workplace performance, remote working, absence management and disciplinary.

Care first Lifestyle

Through the Care first lifestyle site you can access a wide range of supportive information, read helpful articles published by our team, view Webinars covering a variety of well-being topics and even speak with a Care first Counsellor in real-time via our online counselling facility.

You can log into your account by visiting www.carefirst-lifestyle.co.uk and logging in using your organisation’s unique log in details. If you are unsure what these details are then please contact your line manager or HR department. The Care first Lifestyle website is great place to go to learn more about Care first and the different areas that we can support in.

How all of these above services link together

As you can see from the above table, all the services that we offer complement each other to ultimately encompass an individual’s overall mental and physical wellbeing, which enables individuals to access professional and clinically proven support.

Our counselling support is available 24/7 to help individuals with any emotional issues that they may have. Our Information Specialists can help individuals with practical information and advice. This practical support is so important because if an individual is concerned about a practical issue, then this can cause detrimental effects to their emotional wellbeing. By getting some support from an Information Specialist this will provide the individual with some clarity on that particular issue, which may help them to feel more in control of a situation and relieve some anxiety.

The Care first Lifestyle site can help individuals who are concerned about an issue. The individual may not know where to start and they can have a look at the resources on our Lifestyle website which may be enough to help them. The Lifestyle website is a great starting place to learn about the types of issues that Care first can support with. The individual can also access our online counselling tool through the Lifestyle website which is an alternative way to access support from a counsellor. By an individual looking through all the resources on our Lifestyle website this can help them to get answers about an issue they may be having. Again by getting some clarity on their issue this may have a positive effect on their mental wellbeing.

If you would like to learn more about ‘How Care first can support you’ then please join our webinar on Wednesday 13th July at 12pm using the details below –

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2151805152583788047

If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.

If you wish to contact the Care first telephone counselling and information line then please don’t hesitate to call the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.

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Talk To Us Campaign this July

Posted on July 11, 2022 by rfj

This July sees the “Talk To Us” campaign organised by the Samaritans.

24 July (24/7) is Samaritans Awareness Day, because they are there to listen 24/7. On this date and throughout July, they will be running their awareness-raising campaign Talk to Us, to remind people that they are there for anyone who needs someone to listen.

Every year in July, Samaritans branches in the UK and Republic of Ireland hold local events to raise awareness that Samaritans are here to listen to anyone who’s struggling to cope, at any time of the day or night.

Find out what your local branch is doing during Talk To Us

       

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Practical Information & Advice Through Care First – Care First Webinar Mon 11th July 2022 at 12pm

Posted on July 11, 2022 by rfj

Care first is often perceived as a support mechanism that only offers emotional support through counselling but this isn’t the only support type Care first is able to help with. Stress and anxiety can often be caused by ongoing practical issues in our everyday life. This might be around your work, childcare issues and legal issues and so on. The issues that we experience on a regular basis can often seem daunting and cause a lot of stress and anxiety if we don’t know how best to resolve them – this is where Care first is also able to support.

Not only do we offer emotional support through counselling, but we also offer practical advice on how to resolve these sorts of practical issues. Our team of Telephone Information Specialists are able to advise you the best steps and give you guidance on how best to resolve the issue you’re having.

Who are the Telephone Information Specialists?

Care first has a team of information specialists who answer inbound calls to Care first for people looking for practical advice. All of the Telephone Information Specialists are Citizen Advice trained and are able to advise on a huge range of topics. These include but are not limited to:

  • Benefits
  • Childcare information
  • Consumer advice
  • Debt
  • Divorce/separation
  • Education
  • Eldercare information
  • Employment
  • Health/medical
  • Housing
  • Law/Legal information
  • Retirement
  • Substance abuse
  • Tax queries

How will they help?

The Telephone Information Specialist’s will speak to you and ask questions to fully understand the situation you’re in. They will then guide you through the best next steps, explain what available resources will be helpful to you, they may also signpost you to appropriate websites or organisations that can also help. They will make a note of the issues and what has been discussed so if you call again a Telephone Information Specialist can pick up where you left off. This is especially useful if you need to go away and follow some steps and then call back for additional guidance.

How do I speak with a Telephone Information Specialist?

It’s really easy to speak with a Telephone Information Specialist, just call your organisations EAP Freephone telephone number, you will be given the option to hold and speak with a counsellor, or ‘press 1’ to speak with a Telephone information Specialist. Once you have pressed ‘1’ your call will be sent to the Telephone Information Specialists. They are available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm so bear this in mind when calling.

Is it confidential?

Yes. The service is complete confidential. Despite this support being offered by your organisation Care first is separate entity and we don’t share any identifiable information with any third parties or even your organisation. You are able to call and speak with a counsellor or a Telephone Information Specialists without anyone ever knowing or finding out. There are only three very exceptional circumstances in which we would be forced to break confidentiality, which is when there is threat to the life of another person, a child protection or vulnerable adult issues or a risk to the security of the organisation.

More information

If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Practical information and advice through Care first’ this is being delivered live on Monday 11th July at 12:00pm-12:30pm, please use the following link to register for this session –

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8974334176604690192

If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.

If you feel you may need some support, you can contact Care first. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support.

Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and
you can speak to a professional in confidence.

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Health and Wellbeing Flavour of the Month: July 2022

Posted on July 8, 2022 by rfj

Below is your heads-up calendar for the health and wellbeing initiatives for the month ahead. The summer sees fewer awareness campaigns. This is because so many people are on holiday and organisations perceive this as a blocker to achieving their awareness aims. Nevertheless, here are the health and wellbeing related days for July:

  • Samaritans’ ‘Talk To Us’ Campaign: a month long campaign highlighting the essential work that the Samaritans do supporting the mental health of anyone who contacts them. The highlight of the month is ‘The Big Listen Day’ on 24 July when each branch holds events. The Samaritans specifically chose this day because they are available to listen 24/07.
  • Plastic Free July Month: this is part of an international initiative that encourages everybody to limit their use of plastic. This year, the push is to get people to pledge refusing to use single use plastic items.
  • National Bereaved Parents Day, 03 July: the aim of this day to raise awareness of all parents who have lost a child of any age, and from any circumstance. The theme for this year is ‘Keeping Their Memory Alive’.
  • Festival of Archaeology 16-31 July: this event is promoted by the British Council for Archaeology. The theme this year is ‘Journeys’. The aim for this year is ‘We hope the theme of Journeys will help people discover the archaeology that is all around them.’ Follow the link to access information on all the events they have planned. 22 July is ‘Ask an Archaeologist’ Day.
  • Love Parks Week, 29 July-05 August: this campaign is organised by Keep Britain Tidy. To find out more, follow the link. This is a very worthwhile initiative considering the proven link between good wellbeing and interacting with nature
  • National Schizophrenia Awareness Day, 25 July: supported by the organisation, Rethink.Org, this day aims to shine ‘a light on the challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the UK and millions more worldwide….set out the steps we can all take to break down the stigma and discrimination surrounding this much-misunderstood illness.’

Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash

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Talk To Us 2022 – Care First Webinar Fri 8th July 2022 at 12pm

Posted on July 8, 2022 by rfj

Talk To Us is an annual awareness raising campaign ran by the Samaritans to help raise awareness around the benefits of both talking with someone, but also being a good listener for others.

For so many years, many of us grew up keeping our deepest thoughts to ourselves. Sharing these thoughts and talking with others was risky and we avoided it out of fear of judgement. However, time have changed and as the world becomes more aware of mental wellbeing and the issues that people experience, we are now encouraged more than ever to talk to someone about how we are feeling, whether that be a friend, a family member, a partner or a counsellor through your EAP support.

What are the benefits of speaking with someone?

– Stress relief – How many times have you kept something to yourself and it’s become a much larger issue than it needs to be, only for the moment you speak with someone about it you feel the world has been lifted. This is often the way it goes as people try to hold onto their feelings for as long as possible, only to realise sharing isn’t all that bad. The stress and anxiety relief when sharing can be uplifting, you won’t feel as if you’re on your own with it anymore, you may get the reassurance or help that you need and things will start to look up!
– Building stronger relationships – Opening up to someone you trust can really strengthen a relationship. If you open up to a friend or family member you will feel relieved and reassured that you can count on them. For them equally, they will feel you’re able to be vulnerable with them which in turn can allow them to more freely speak with you, should they need to.

Who shall I speak to?

This depends on who you feel most comfortable with. This will vary from person to person as some will speak with their partner or family member, some will speak with close friend, others opt to speak with people they don’t know like counsellors or groups.

– Friends – You will know which friends you trust the most, or the ones that would receive things best. Create yourself a comfortable situation with them and try to open up when the time feels right

– Family – Family members can often be relied upon to offer up support and reassurance in times of need. Don’t be afraid to reach out and share your feelings as more often than not, they would be encouraging you to do so if they were aware of how you were feeling.

– A Group – Some people join groups of others that may be similar. This is often done online now in forums where people seek advice and others give it. The internet has plenty of cons but being able to do this with people around the world that may be experiencing the same or similar is definitely a plus!

– Speak with a counsellor – There’s plenty of support available to you to have confidential
conversations with professionals. Accessing the support available from your EAP and speaking with a counsellor can be a good starting point to opening up and as it’s completely confidential, nobody will know.

More information

If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Talk to us 2022’ is being delivered live on Friday 8th July at 12:00pm-12:30pm, please use the following link to register for this session –
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2463556281367923468

If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.

If you feel you may need some support, you can contact Care first. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support.

Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.

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How Care First Can Support You – Care First Webinar Weds 6th July at 12pm

Posted on July 4, 2022 by rfj

Counselling support

Our team of professionally trained, qualified and BACP Accredited Counsellors are available 24/7 to offer support for personal or workplace related issues. As well as the headline issues surrounding mental health, our Care first counsellors are also trained in dealing with both work and home grievances, bullying & harassment issues, domestic violence, relationships at both home and at work and much more. No matter how big or small the problem may be, our counsellors are here for you to provide you with unbiased support away from the situation. Everyone has very individual needs for support, Care first provides short term focussed counselling, so the Care first Counsellor will assess your circumstances when you call to establish what the most appropriate form of support will be for you. It might be that you just need a brief conversation with the Counsellor that day, or you may benefit from a few more sessions.

Information Specialists

As control, or the lack of it, can be an influencing factor on the impact of stress. Many individuals identify stress as emotional, however, a lack of control around practical issues can be just as impactful. We have expert advisors that have been trained by Citizens Advice who can provide you with comprehensive answers and assistance on a wide range of practical issues which can affect our daily life, these include but are not limited to; redundancy, advice on funerals and probate, legal information, housing and tenancy issues, childcare, eldercare, health, consumer issues, employment, travel and education. Our Information Specialists are also money trained experts and can provide support with a variety of financial queries such as help with budgeting finances and advice with benefits. You can speak with one of our Information Specialists confidentially Monday-Friday between 8am-8pm.

Management Support

If you are a manager, have leadership responsibilities, or look after a team within your organisation, it is as important as ever that your colleagues are made aware of the range of support available from Care first. As well as supporting you to signpost your colleagues to the Care first service effectively to maintain your managerial boundaries, Care first can also provide you with support within your role as a manager. Care first Counsellors are all management trained and can provide support with issues such as if the organisation is going through a period of redundancy, managing change and difficult conversations, workplace performance, remote working, absence management and disciplinary.

Care first Lifestyle

Through the Care first lifestyle site you can access a wide range of supportive information, read helpful articles published by our team, view Webinars covering a variety of well-being topics and even speak with a Care first Counsellor in real-time via our online counselling facility.

You can log into your account by visiting www.carefirst-lifestyle.co.uk and logging in using your organisation’s unique log in details. If you are unsure what these details are then please contact your line manager or HR department. The Care first Lifestyle website is great place to go to learn more about Care first and the different areas that we can support in.

How all of these above services link together

As you can see from the above table, all the services that we offer complement each other to ultimately encompass an individual’s overall mental and physical wellbeing, which enables individuals to access professional and clinically proven support.

Our counselling support is available 24/7 to help individuals with any emotional issues that they may have. Our Information Specialists can help individuals with practical information and advice. This practical support is so important because if an individual is concerned about a practical issue, then this can cause detrimental effects to their emotional wellbeing. By getting some support from an Information Specialist this will provide the individual with some clarity on that particular issue, which may help them to feel more in control of a situation and relieve some anxiety.

The Care first Lifestyle site can help individuals who are concerned about an issue. The individual may not know where to start and they can have a look at the resources on our Lifestyle website which may be enough to help them. The Lifestyle website is a great starting place to learn about the types of issues that Care first can support with. The individual can also access our online counselling tool through the Lifestyle website which is an alternative way to access support from a counsellor. By an individual looking through all the resources on our Lifestyle website this can help them to get answers about an issue they may be having. Again by getting some clarity on their issue this may have a positive effect on their mental wellbeing.

If you would like to learn more about ‘How Care first can support you’ then please join our webinar on Wednesday 6th July at 12pm using the details below –

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3504037328871875598

If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.

If you wish to contact the Care first telephone counselling and information line then please don’t hesitate to call the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.

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Care First Webinar Schedule W/C 4th July 2022

Posted on July 4, 2022 by rfj

For details of this weeks Care First (EAP) webinar schedule please click the link below:

2022 Weekly Publicity Calendar – 4th July 2022

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