The North East and Yorkshire (NEY) Leadership Academy has designed a ‘Winter Support Package’ for colleagues throughout the region titled ‘Looking After Yourself’ – and formed of a number of workshops between November 2023 and January 2024.

The support includes blended learning through a range of bitesize offers, tools and resources and is there to help colleagues prioritises themselves first and foremost – as well as helping leaders to better support their teams.

As we enter winter, those of us who are experienced in working in the NHS will know this brings with it a natural level of increased pressure and demand. This paired with environmental conditions that can also be challenging to our mental and physical wellbeing make being pro-active in the area of self-care all the more important.

The full agenda for the programme is as follows:

Supporting Your Mental Health:

This session wil help you build a sense of belonging and self-worth, and provides the opportunity to share positive experiences and offer emotional support – ultimately fostering a supportive community in which you can both give and receive support.

Mindfulness in Managing Health and Wellbeing During Challenging Times:

This is an interactive session which aims to raise awareness of issues pertaining to health and wellbeing, and will cover busyness and the six ‘big realities’ – difficult emotions, uncertainty, loneliness, change, dissatisfaction and death, in the aim of helping you to reframe thoughts and consider how you can look after yourself.

Health and Wellbeing Cafe:

This 90-minute session provides you with the chance to spend time with other wellbeing professionals and will provide you with the chance to think about what wellbeing means to you this winter, to be signposted to relevant support and resources, provide you with self-care top tips, offer opportunities to practice self-care and help you create a personal action plan.

Sustaining yourself to thrive during winter pressures

This 90-minute workshop aims to help you prepare for winter pressures by giving you time to explore the practical tools that can help you enjoy the winter months more, offer you space to explore preparation for winter pressures, providing 5 top tips for self-care that boosts energy, help you plan in a pause and create a personal action plan for the winter.

Lego Serious Play:

The Lego Serious Play Method is a process that acknowledges that participants bring unique insights, skills and knowledge to the table and facilitates the sharing and application of these perspectives. The workshop is a fully immersive experience for the participant and encourages active participation that is supported by skilled facilitation. For full details on the contents of the individual sessions, visit the NEY Leadership Academy website.

More Resources:

In addition to the above programme of sessions, the NEY Leadership Academy has also compiled a range of supporting resources, reading materials and TED Talks.

Of course, you can also learn more about the self-care options available to you through the Balance offer via our dedicated web area. Why not plan in a winter pause by booking a free salon treatment, discover useful apps and podcasts that can help get you through or download our financial wellbeing guide to find low-cost ways to treat yourself?