Living Well with 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 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 five weeks, with a 75 minute online session each week.

I want to learn techniques to help me live well with 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 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 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 chronic pain and its psychological impact. Learning relaxation techniques.

Managing worry, pain and activity. Learning to pace activities.

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

Top tips about improving relationships and communication styles. Understanding unhelpful thinking styles.

Challenging negative thoughts. Top tips about sleep. Managing flare ups and maintaining progress.

Course dates

This course runs throughout the year, with courses starting on the dates below.

Date	Time	Location
05 July 2023 - 02 August 2023	14:00 PM - 15:30 PM	Online - Microsoft Teams
16 August 2023 - 13 September 2023	14:00 PM - 15:30 PM	Online - Microsoft Teams
27 September 2023 - 25 October 2023	14:00 PM - 15:30 PM	Online - Microsoft Teams
08 November 2023 - 06 December 2023	14:00 PM - 15:30 PM	Online - Microsoft Teams

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 IAPT’, 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.

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 iapt.info@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.

Give us a call

Book an assessment with one of our team today

Book now

Try our self help resources

Online referral

Accessibility and translation tool disclaimer

A bit more about the course

Course dates

How do I book a place?

Frequently asked questions

Book an assessment with one of our team today