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Living Well with Persistent Pain

Living with persistent pain may affect what you can do across many areas of your life. It can impact your sleep, concentration and your relationships. This could lead to you feeling stressed, low or unable to cope. 

Our Living Well with persistent pain course is designed to help you understand more about pain and learn new coping strategies and tools to better manage your pain and the impact it has on your life.  

You’ll have a chance to meet other people who are experiencing chronic pain and share your experiences. 

The course is free and runs for six weeks, with a 75 minute online session each week.  

Is this right for me image
  • I want to learn techniques to help me live well with persistent pain 
  • I am aged 18 or over   
  • I can attend all sessions online   
  • I am willing to practice some of the techniques at home between sessions   
  • I am happy to be involved in a group format   

A bit more about the course

The course is run online on Microsoft Teams by an experienced member of our team.

We will introduce you to new techniques and coping mechanisms that are designed to help increase your confidence to manage your persistent pain and improve your wellbeing.

Some of the most important techniques we will focus on are breathing techniques and how they can aid relaxation and help you calm down.

We will also look at the impact living in persistent pain can have on your relationships and look at how important communication with others is.

The course is a great opportunity to meet other people managing chronic pain who may be experiencing similar things that you are.

Each session is 75 minutes long with plenty of breaks to help you pace yourself.

Below you can see the different topics we will cover each week.

Introduction to the course. Understanding persistent pain and its psychological impact. Learning relaxation techniques.

Understanding the link between persistent pain and behviour. Learning to pace activities.

Understanding your emotions and mood. Improving your mood through valued living.

Top tips about restructuring thoughts. Understanding unhelpful thinking styles.

Understanding how to communicate effectively and make the most of healthcare appointments.

Reviewing and recapping each session. Maintaining progress and managing flare ups.

Course dates

Our Living Well with Persistent Pain course runs on a regular basis throughout the year. Courses are available online, Wednesdays 2-3:30pm.

First, you need to book an assessment with a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP). They will discuss the course and how it will help you. The PWP will be able to book you onto the next course.

How do I book a place? 

If you would like to book a place on this course all you need to do is fill in our online referral form. 

Select the ‘Living Well with Pain’ course as your preferred treatment option. 

You can also call us on 0114 226 4380 and speak to one of our team. 

Once you have completed your referral you will be invited for a short assessment call with one of our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners.

Frequently asked questions

We know that coming to a course like this for the first time can be quite daunting and you’ll have lots of questions about what to expect.  

Below is a list of some of the most common questions we are asked and some answers to help put your mind at ease.

If you have filled in a self-referral form or booked over the phone you will be offered an assessment call with one of the course facilitators. 

You will receive a link via a text message to choose a day and time that works best for you for your assessment.  

During the call you will be asked some questions to help us make sure that the course is the right one for you. You will have an opportunity to ask any questions you have.  

Please note you will receive this call from a withheld number.  

Two days before each course session you will receive a text or an email (depending on your preference) with a set of questionnaires. The text will be sent from ‘SHEFF NHS’, and the email will be sent from webform@myprogress.info please add this to your contacts so the email doesn’t get lost in your spam.  

These questionnaires will ask you about depression and anxiety, and what symptoms you have noticed over the last two weeks. It is really helpful to complete them each week, as they allow both you and us to keep a track of any improvements in your mood. 

A week before the course, one of the course facilitators will call you. They will introduce themselves and give you more information about the course. They can also answer any questions you might have.

 

In the week before your course is due to start you will receive an email from our administration team. The email will provide you with a link to the meeting, instructions on how to join it and a downloadable copy of your workbook.  

This email will come from sheffieldtalkingtherapies@shsc.nhs.uk, please add this to your contacts so the email doesn’t get lost in your spam.

We hope you will find the course helpful, but sometimes it can take time to put the techniques into practice and notice improvements in your mood. We would encourage you to keep using the techniques in your workbook and give yourself a chance to practice them after the course. 

We will contact you if you are still struggling with symptoms of depression or anxiety to see if our service can offer any further treatment or recommend any other services to help support to you.  

If you did not attend the whole course we may also contact you to check in. 

Your telephone review will be booked with a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and will give you a chance to discuss the course, give you an opportunity to ask any questions and discuss further options for treatment. 

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