Let’s Talk Low Mood
Week 1
Welcome
• Housekeeping - fire exits, toilets, refreshments
• Introductions, who we are
• Questionnaires – which questionnaires?
– Why we use them
– How often we need to take scores
• Congratulations on making it this far!
• Handouts
Keeping safe
• This course is a Psychoeducational course not group therapy
and we are not able to discuss individual problems with you
• Please refer to your course invite letter with regard to
keeping safe
• You do not need to discuss anything in the group which may
cause you distress
• If you feel unable to attend all steps of the course here or
online or using the manual at home please go back to your
GP to discuss your difficulties
Thoughts of harming yourself
• Thoughts are very usual
• Intent and plans are different
• If you are intending to harm yourself, you need
to seek further help
• Samaritans Telephone Number is:08457 909090
• Speak to your GP
• Speak to someone in your life
Increase in Likelihood of Intent
0
Not likely
5
10
Very likely
Ask yourself:
Where are you now - what is the likelihood of harming yourself today?
If the likelihood was to increase, what would you do?
You can contact:
• Samaritans Telephone Number is:08457 909090
• Speak to your GP/Out of Hours Service
• Speak to someone in your life
Group structure
• Weekly from 6.00-7.30pm but not in any ‘school’ half
terms
• Psycho-educational group not a therapy group
• Weekly tasks to complete in between sessions
Week 1
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Introductions – who we are & how this works
Ground rules and contracts
Ice-breakers
Course overview
Introduction to low mood & depression
The CBT model – how it works
Motivation to change
Personal Goals
Homework tasks
Ice-breakers
Group Contract
What rules would you like the group to
agree to over the next six weeks?
Course Summary
• Week 1: Introducing low mood and depression
• Week 2: Behavioural activation and looking after yourself
• Week 3: Behavioural activation continued and time
management
• Week 4: Introducing unhelpful thinking
• Week 5: Unhelpful thinking continued, positive self-talk
and work-life balance
• Week 6: Planning for the future and what next
What is low mood/depression?
Group exercise
Split into small groups; write symptoms of low mood on post-it
notes and put into these categories…..
• Behavioural
• Emotional
• Physical
• Cognitive (thoughts/images)
…….stick onto body outline on flipchart
What is low mood/depression?
Changes in physical sensations...
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Low energy
Changes in sleep
Changes in brain chemistry
Aches and pains
What is low mood/depression?
Changes in thoughts...
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Negative thinking
Slow, sluggish thoughts
Repetitive thoughts
Harsh self criticism
Unfair and unrealistic thinking
Not being able to concentrate
Poor and biased memory
What is low mood/depression?
Changes in behaviours…
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Avoidance
Increase in risky behaviours
Withdrawing
Not doing the things you used to do
Putting off tasks
Not caring about personal appearance
What is low mood/depression?
Changes in emotions...
• No or limited pleasure felt when doing things/seeing
people
• Sadness
• Numbness
• Despair
• Anxiety
• Anger
• Irritability
• Frustration
How common is
low mood/depression?
• You are not alone. More than 15% of adults
will get depressed at some time and 4% are
depressed at any one time.
• It can happen to anyone. Getting depressed
does not mean you are weak
What causes low mood?
Group exercise....
Split into small groups: write down on post-its what you
think are the causes of low mood or depression.
CBT model
Thoughts
Situation
“I’m never going to get better”
“No one will want to be with me”
“I will always feel like this”
Physical sensations
Emotions
No energy
Reduced sleep
Sadness
Hopelessness
Behaviour
Withdrawing from people
Not eating much
Not taking care of self
Motivation to Change
Pros of
Staying the Same
Cons of
Staying the Same
Pros of
Changing
Cons of
Changing
Discussion
Collect examples of pros and cons of staying the
same / making changes and put on white board
Cycle of Change
Adapted from Prochaska and DiClemente (1986)
Setting goals
• Setting goals is important to identify what you want
to achieve.
• Choosing areas that you want to try and change is a
key part of successfully moving forward.
• Types of goals:
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Long term goal(s)
Medium term goal (over 6 months)
Course goal (over 6 weeks)
SMART Goals
What are SMART goals?
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Rewarding
• Time-limited
SMART Goals
• Specific – Make you goal specific enough so you
know exactly what you are working towards i.e.
two sessions of exercise a week.
• Measurable – Make you goal measurable, that
way you know when you have achieved them
i.e. exercise sessions last for twenty minutes.
• Achievable – Make your goal realistic!
SMART Goals
• Rewarding – Make you goal fun and enjoyable, if
you don’t find it rewarding it is much harder to
keep it going i.e. going to a dance class may be
more rewarding than going for a run.
• Time-limited – Set yourself a time-limit by when
you want to achieve your goal. Without a
deadline it is easy to lose motivation.
SMART Goals
Putting it all together – example:
“I will go to a Zumba class for 45 minutes twice a
week for the next four weeks.”
Now It’s Your Turn!
Spend 5 minutes setting your own SMART goal for the next 6 weeks
Specific
What specifically do you want
to achieve?
Measurable
How will you measure your
progress towards your goal?
Achievable
How sure are you that you
are able to attain your goal?
Relevant
Why is your goal relevant to
you?
Time-limited
Set a date by which you think
you should be able to achieve
your goal.
Workshop 1 summary
• The course and how it works
• Depression – its signs and symptoms
• Setting personal goals
• Any questions or queries?
Weekly Tasks
• Complete SMART goal setting
• Read through handout and complete the CBT
Hot Cross Bun and Goal sheet before next
week‘s session