“This experience has improved my life”

A talking therapies service ran by Let’s Talk – Wellbeing in the Trust is making a difference to the lives of people diagnosed with a long term condition in Broxtowe. 

The service focuses on physical health conditions such as diabetes and dermatological issues, and the psychological effects these can have such as anxiety or depression. The service uses a range of talking therapies to reduce the emotional distress caused by a person’s physical ill health, whilst helping them to better cope with their condition and manage symptoms. 

Here we share David’s story who was recently seen by Kelly McGrory, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.

“This has been such a positive experience. I encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to make the most of it.

“I have psoriasis and was looking for a way to address the root cause by managing stress and anxiety. I never classed myself as a person who has anxiety or mental health problems and I didn’t know what to expect.

“Therapy can be challenging as you explore and reflect on your experiences and perceptions but very quickly I found it empowering. I started to understand myself, my worries and developed tools to manage my anxiety.

“I learnt not to be scared of feeling anxious and in the safe environment of therapy learnt that I could quickly bring on, control and recover from feelings of anxiety.

“Kelly has been excellent. She is very supportive and used open and non-judgemental questions to help me explore the way I feel and come to my own conclusions. We planned and carried out real life experiments to disprove some fears I held and this has helped me feel more comfortable leading up to some situations.

“There is hard work outside of the therapy sessions and it doesn’t mean I don’t have worries or feel stress but I don’t fear it and I’m getting better at managing it.

“I can honestly say that this experience has improved my life.”

The service is currently for people registered with a GP in the Broxtowe area of Nottingham and is commissioned by Nottingham West Clinical Commissioning Group. Contact the service Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 5.00pm, on 0115 956 0888.