The course has been written by a Psychiatrist who has many years of experience using a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) approach and also in helping people use these skills in everyday life. During the development phase of the course, each module has been used by a wide range of health care practitioners and members of the public.
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based and structured form of psychotherapy that aims to alter the unhelpful thinking (cognitions) and behaviour that commonly occur during times of distress. The model is fully compatible with the use of medication if this is indicated. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence provides an overview of the evidence supporting the effectiveness of CBT. A useful summary about CBT is also available from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
The Living Life to the Full course is a life skills course that aims to provide access to high quality, practical and user-friendly training in life skills.
The course content teaches key skills for tackling and responding to issues/demands which we all meet in our everyday lives.
The following outline gives an overview of the type of things the course covers:
- Understanding why we feel as we do.
- Practical problem solving skills.
- Using Anxiety Control Training relaxation.
- Overcoming Reduced activity .
- Helpful and Unhelpful behaviours.
- Using Medication effectively.
- Noticing unhelpful thoughts.
- Changing unhelpful thoughts.
- Healthy living – sleep, food, diet and exercise.
- Staying well.
What would you like to get out of the course?
- We all need life skills in our work, relationships and in every other aspect of our lives.
- Probably we all have very different reasons for doing the course. Some of us may suffer or are suffering from depression/anxiety or distress.
- Some of us may be caring/supporting people who are facing anxiety or depression.
- Some of us may be working with people with anxiety/depression.
Whatever your reason for wanting to learn these life skills we hope the content proves helpful. The skills taught cover general skills/information we can all use in our lives when we feel under pressure, stressed or distressed
Course content and materials
- Sound, text and video clips are used throughout.
- Free short handouts supplement the course. Longer detailed practical workbooks that develop and build upon the course are available
- Moderated discussion forums are available to help course users swap ideas, information and provide mutual support.
Remember: Nothing is compulsory – you are in control. After completing the initial registration process, you can choose to complete as many or as few of the self-help life skills modules as you wish. You don’t have to use or buy anything.
Why self-help as a way of teaching life skills?
Self-help materials are increasingly available and are popular with the general public and health care practitioners. Any good bookshop is likely to have a significantly sized self-help section.
Self-help books are often amongst the top ten best-selling books. In America and Great Britain, a number of self-help materials have been assessed and been shown to be effective. Recent research has shown that self-help materials can be a helpful way of teaching life skills and of tackling problems such as distress, anxiety and depression.
Not sure if you want to use the course?
- Why not give it a go and see if it’s helpful?
- You can drop-out or come back at any stage you choose to.
It’s likely you’ll get the most out of this course by not just reading this intellectually – but by putting it into practice and seeing if it is credible to you.
Suicidal Ideas?
It is common for suicidal ideas to occur from time to time if you feel low.
If you notice such thoughts please discuss them with your doctor or health care practitioner. For more information visit our Urgent Help page.