www.recoverydevonl.co.uk

There are lots of ways to maintain your wellness including talking therapies, self-help techniques and general wellbeing strategies. I will take each in turn, however, the most important thing in someones recovery is that they must have hope and want to improve their wellness. There is no point forcing someone to get well if they don't want to as this will fail and could potentially make someone worse. The best way is to encourage and support the person to improve their wellness when they are ready. Having said that, some people just don't want to recover and are happy with how they are. That should be recognised as fine, but support should be there to help them, should they change their mind and want to improve their wellness.

We are constantly changing our goals and strategies as we evolve. We want to improve ourselves and gain a better understanding of ourselves, the world and others around us. To that end, our wellness needs constant checking to ensure we maintain our equilibrium.

There are lots of strategies around that we can use, but the first thing we need to consider is where we are at the moment, then look at where we want to be and finally how to get there. One way of doing this is using the Human Givens Approach of looking at the 9 areas of our life and seeing how they are at the moment and working out if we have any gaps. Human Givens Therapists believe that if you can meet each of your Human Givens, you should be free of most mental ill-health and be a more contented person. The areas are: Security; Attention; Autonomy; Emotionally connected to others; Being part of a wider community; Fun, friendship and intimacy; Status; Meaning and purpose; Privacy- reflect and consolidate experience.

Some people may prefer to use the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) to maintain their wellness. The WRAP is a document that the individual creates themselves to help them manage their recovery. The plan includes sections to help the person manage their recovery by identifying ways to stay well, triggers, early warning signs, crisis plan and post crisis plan.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be a useful area to use in one's recovery. CBT believes in the link between your thoughts and beliefs and your mood and behaviour. The way you perceive an event will affect your emotional, behavioural and physiological responses to it. CBT is proven to help people suffering from mood problems like depression, anxiety, anger, pain, jealousy, guilt and shame. CBT can also help with relationship problems, help you handle stressful situations, improve your self-esteem, become less fearful and more confident. One way that can help positivity is to use a thought record.

Books can be a useful tool to aid recovery by enabling you to read and use the self-help material. Books on Prescription is avaiable in many areas. Although the books in the collection are generally prescribed by a graduate mental health worker, one can borrow the books from the local library. A list of the books is in the Books on Prescription section of the website. In East Devon, a project was created, called the People using Library Project by two service users. The group purchased two sets of books aimed at the secondary mental heatlh sector. These books are housed in the local libraries and managed by the Devon County Council library service. A list of the books is listed here

Contacts are also an essential tool in recovery. There are contact directories covering many of the areas of Devon. An electronic contact directory has been purchased by the Local Implementation Team for mental heatlh and will hold the details of all groups, services etc. avaiable to support people in their recovery. The link to this directory, when it is completed, will be in the Contact Directories section of the website.

Somepeople like to talk, some like to get invovled in improving services they receive. Support Time and Recovery Workers are one answer to this. These workers are trained to give people the time and support, they need, to help them in their recovery. The role of these workers isn't to do the tasks that the individual needs help with, but to support them to do the tasks themselves.

Others like to use complementary therapies. A project called PHI Healthcare will be offering Occupational Therapy, Massage, Osteopathy, Medical Herbalism, Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, Counselling, Nutrition, Homeopathy, Speech Therapy, Reflexology, Chiropody, Nursing, Shiatsu and Naturopathy. All therapists are fully qualified and indemnified Health Professionals All practitioners have additional training through PHI Healthcare's own induction courses. PHI Healthcare provide ongoing monitoring, assessment and CPD, to ensure the highest standards of service are maintained.
Another group that offers talking therapies is the Quiet Mind Centre in Exmouth. The Quiet Mind Centre is a registered charity based in Exmouth, Devon, which accommodates anyone on benefits or a very low income who is experiencing physical, mental or emotional issues. At the Quiet Mind Centre, you can benefit from talking to qualified counsellors as well as receiving complementary therapies.
Good Health Exmouth - is a group of qualified and experienced complementary therapists offering their services in Exmouth. Several therapists also offer treatments at the Wellbeing Centre in Gandy Street, Exeter. Treatments include Reiki; Personal Coaching; Therapeutic Counselling; Zero Balancing; Kinesiology; Homeopathy; Massage and Laser Light Therapy. Other therapists also offering Healing, Reflexology, Shiatsu, etc. have private practises. There is a now new website with further information: www.goodhealthexmouth.co.uk

The Tidal Model is a model for the promotion of mental health developed by Professor Phil Barker, Poppy Buchanan-Barker and their colleagues. The Tidal Model focuses on the continuous process of change inherent in all people. It seeks to reveal the meaning of people's experiences, emphasising the importance of their own voice and the power of metaphor when carrying out assessment. It aims to empower people to reclaim control of their lives using the three domains of self, world and others.

www.wellnessdevon.co.uk this site contains lots of useful sections on adult, youth and areas of devon where there is information on lots of ways to maintain your wellness and look after yourself.

Another way of helping recovery is to look at volunteering and education. There are lots of volunteer centres and training organsiations in Devon.

One thing to remember: whatever method you use, do remember that you are the one in control of your recovery. No one else can do it for you. To have hope and want to recover means you are half way there. Good luck and stay well.