Posted on: 4 February 2021
To mark #TimetoTalk Day today (4 February 2021) we're sharing Jo's story:
Jo Green, CNWL Specialist Speech and Language Therapist reached out to the north west London Keeping Well Service, when she was feeling overwhelmed and anxious due to upcoming workplace changes.
During the summer, Jo contacted one the service’s therapists after attending a wellbeing webinar. Within 24 hours she was registered and offered an appointment.
Jo said: “Once I made contact with the team and spoke with someone, it was so quick and seamless, I was very impressed with how fast someone came back to me, they really cared.”
Jo, who is based in Milton Keynes, took part in weekly virtual sessions on the telephone with the service, and was set goals and targets to work on.
Jo said: “I agreed to six sessions with my counsellor; we discussed my worries or concerns and came up with a summary of how I was feeling at the beginning of the session and compared that to how I was feeling at the end. I was set personal homework to complete, and signposted to apps and resources that I could look through in my own time.”
At the end of the programme, Jo recommended the Keeping Well Service to her colleagues.
“I’ve been working in CNWL for seven years, I love working with my team, we’re all so supportive of one another, peer support is so important” says Jo, “When I finished my sessions it was reassuring to look back at my progress and to see how far I have come.”
Jo uses the self help resources they provided her with regularly and back to them frequently with her 11-year-old son, Nathan (pictured right)
She said: “By using them with Nathan it helps to talk about any worries. I use the lessons I learnt to teach him about the things we can control and what we can do about it, rather than feeling anxious about what we can’t control. We both find it really useful and we use it as a brief check in on his wellbeing too.
I’ve come on a full journey, I no longer feel so worried or anxious and I’m able to talk through my feelings instead of bottling it up. Which I think is the most important message to share to anyone who is feeling like they can’t open up.”
Keeping Well is a partnership between CNWL and West London NHS Trust.