GMCVO support the Anthony Seddon Foundation to become a community trainer

Living Life to the Full (LLTTF) is one of the world’s most used wellbeing support packages. It is delivered online or in-person over six 1.5 – 2 hour sessions and helps participants work out why they feel as they do, how to tackle problems, build confidence, get going again, feel happier, stay calm and tackle upsetting thoughts using everyday non-complex language. It’s content is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques. 

GMCVO co-ordinates delivery of train the trainer courses to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations so that they can deliver the sessions to the people and communties that they work with. 

The Anthony Seddon Foundation attended the training in May 2023, and received a small grant to help pay to deliver the courses to the people they work with. This case study shares their experience of delivering the sessions.

Who are they?

The Anthony Seddon Fund was set up in 2014 by Donna and Brian following the death by suicide of their son Anthony. With volunteers and other staff they now run a peer support mental health charity the heart of Ashton providing a safe space that promotes social interactions and support networks to aid prevention, recovery and management of any mental health issue.

They run a number of services and work in collaboration with other organisations to deliver others. The services include:

  • A hearing voices group

  • A suicide bereaved group.

  • Arts and crafts activities

  • A Drop in and listening ear service

  • A Safe Crisis café

  • The Living Well service

How was the training delivered?

Donna Thomas, the founder of The Anthony Seddon Fund, has delivered two courses of Living Life to the Full and is intending to deliver more in the future. The courses were delivered in June, July and August, training 10 people over the two courses. The courses were delivered face to face, one during the day and one in the evening. 

The participants were a mix of carers and family members but also volunteers and people who use the services. The numbers were lower than expected but the small groups worked well due to the complex needs of the people attending. 

While following the course materials and outline, Donna who delivered the training, personalised the content and style of delivery using her own experience. Although Donna was experienced in facilitating groups this was the first time she had delivered a course of this kind. 

Rather than using the Tension Control Training (TCT) script from the course at every session, Donna used mindfulness exercises that she had recently learnt when attending a eight week mindfulness course. Participants seemed to respond more favourably to these exercises than the TCT. The mindfulness exercises were simpler to apply and could be tailored (both in length and content) to how the group were responding that day.

She also brought a number of props such as a pipe and ball game to demonstrate breathing techniques, anxiety control toys and bubbles. These props helped to demonstrate the course concepts and attendees took them home each week to continue their use at home.

During the session participants were encouraged to get involved in writing up group feedback on the flipchart and work together as a group on various scenarios rather than working in pairs. This worked well as the groups as a whole were small but may not have worked as well in a larger group.

Learning points for future courses included:

  • Ensuring everyone attends the first session (important for grasping the core concepts of CBT)

  • Asking attendees to complete the post course evaluation form during the last session (not sending it out afterwards)

  • Discussing the suitability of the content with attendees before the start of the course. One participant, who was also in therapy, found attending the course as well was too much and dropped out

How has the training made a difference?

Some of the people attending had already had CBT training but the consensus was that the way LLTTF is delivered brought these methods to life and helped them to apply them to their own lives. Some of the volunteers said that the course helped them to apply the course content in the conversations they have with others. 

The discussions in the sessions were rich and the groups developed the trust to open up, share experiences and learn from each other. 

The “Understanding your feelings” session really resonated with one member, each week they came back with an example of how examining their own thoughts, feelings, physical reactions had changed how they had reacted in interactions with other people.

In one case, the group discussed a situation where a participant had thought they had offended someone. The group discussed if they really knew that or were they “mind reading” (an unhelpful thought pattern identified in the sessions). The result was that the participant decided to go into the next interaction with that person with an open mind and discovered they hadn’t offended them at all. 

Find out more

In Greater Manchester Train the Trainer courses are currently being delivered for the following:

  • Living Life to the Full (LLTTF) - for low mood and stress.

  • Reclaim Your Life (RYL) - for those living with long term health conditions.

  • Enjoy Your Baby 

  • Enjoy Your Pregnancy

To find out more about how you can become a community trainer, visit our dedicated web page.

In addition, there is a free website, GM Lifeskills, where members of the public can access a range of self-help resources in different languages. 

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