Services
Gloucestershire Health & Wellbeing College
We provide free and friendly, peer led educational courses and workshops,
to support you to live well with your health conditions.
In this page
Through learning together, our vision is to provide educational self-management courses to help you to build the skills and confidence to take control of your own health and wellbeing. We know how closely linked physical and mental health are and how you can’t have one without the other. Our courses are tailored to consider different aspects of wellbeing.
Creating hope and connections with likeminded people, we offer a unique and friendly service, facilitated by those with lived experience. Our Peer Support Workers understand what it is like to live with a long-term health condition and have their own experiences of self-management and recovery.
At the Gloucestershire Health and Wellbeing College it is all about you. Our courses have been produced by you, for you and we want to support you to become the expert in your own health and self-management of your conditions.
Our courses
We deliver a diverse range of free educational courses; covering many topics around physical health, mental health and wellbeing.
All our courses and workshops are co-produced. This means we invite individuals with lived experience of mental and/or physical health conditions to work alongside our team members and clinical staff to design the course content.
All our courses and workshops are led by our trained Peer Support Workers, who all have lived experience of mental health challenges or/and long-term physical health conditions themselves. They are here to offer support to others experiencing similar situations and we are all constantly learning from each other.
Mental health courses
The following courses are open to adults who are registered with a Gloucestershire GP who are living with a mental health condition and must be currently receiving care from a mental health team within secondary services.
Secondary mental health services can include Recovery Team, GRiP, Eating Disorders, Young Adults Team, Later Life, Perinatal Mental Health or Assertive Outreach Teams and more.
Creative Course
An arts and crafts course for all, from beginners to those with more experience. No artistic drawing skills required.
Are you interested in using art as part of your routine? Would you like to learn some new skills in a supportive environment? Come and explore how participating in arts and crafts activities could support your recovery. We will be introducing a new activity each week to give you an opportunity to try a range of mediums and techniques.
Date: Wednesdays starting 29 January 2025 – 26 February 2025 (with a break on 19 February for half term)
Time: 10.30am – 12.30pm
Duration: 4 weeks (same day and time each week)
Venue: St Matthew’s C of E Church, 44 Clarence Street, Cheltenham GL50 3PL
Closing Date for Applications: 8 January 2025
Life Skills for Independence Course
This course is open to inpatients at Laurel House and Honeybourne only
Join this friendly and relaxed course which aims to support you in moving towards more independent living. We will cover topics such as paying bills, shopping and cooking on a budget, overcoming barriers, general household chores, goal setting and more.
The course is co-facilitated by the Gloucestershire Health and Care Accommodation team, our Health and Wellbeing Clinician and our Peer Support Workers, who all have lived experience of their own recovery.
Date: Tuesdays starting 4 February 2025 – 4 March 2025 (with a break on 18 February for half term)
Time: 2pm – 4pm
Duration: 4 weeks (same day and time each week)
Venue: Laurel House, Cheltenham
Closing Date for Applications: 27 January 2025
Mindfulness Workshop for Mental Health and Wellbeing
A friendly and relaxed mindfulness workshop aimed at developing a helpful range of mindfulness techniques, to support you in managing your symptoms and your recovery journey.
The course takes an educational approach to mindfulness, helping you to identify what works best for you through group learning and sharing with fellow participants, peers and the facilitators.
This course will be co-facilitated by a Peer Support Worker with lived experience of their own recovery.
Date: Monday 3 February 2025
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Duration: 2-hour workshop
Venue: Pullman Place, Great Western Road, Gloucester, GL1 3NF
Closing Date for Applications: 13 January 2025
Employment Course
Join this friendly and relaxed course which aims to help you build your confidence in seeking employment. We will cover topics such as benefits and fears, identifying your strengths, goal setting, explaining gaps in employment, support for any convictions, signposting information and more.
In partnership with the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment services team, this course is co-facilitated by an employment specialist, our Health and Wellbeing Clinician and Peer Support Workers, who all have lived experience of their own recovery.
Date: Tuesdays starting 18 March 2024 – 8 April 2025
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Duration: 4 weeks (same day and time each week)
Venue: The Bluecoat Room at the Guildhall, Eastgate Street, Gloucester
Closing Date for Applications: 25 February 2025
Physical health courses
Live Better to Feel Better Course
Learn a range of self-management tools and techniques and gain the confidence to use them in your day-to-day life. Self-management is about finding ways which will support and allow you to take back control of your long-term health condition, rather than have it control you.
Topics covered include managing pain and fatigue, getting a good night’s sleep, problem solving, decision making, managing low mood, communication hints and tips, working with your healthcare professional and many more. This course is delivered by our Physical Health Peer Support Workers who all have their own experience of living with a long-term physical health condition.
Option 1
Date: Tuesday afternoons starting 25 February 2025 – 1 April 2025
Time: 1:30pm – 3pm
Duration: 6 weeks (same day and time each week)
Venue: The Pavillion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham
Closing Date for Applications: 4 February 2025
Option 2
Date: Friday mornings starting 28 February 2025 – 4 April 2025
Time: 10:30am – 12pm
Duration: 6 weeks (same day and time each week)
Venue: Five Valleys Medical Practice, King Street, Stroud
Closing Date for Applications: 7 February 2025
Apply for a course
To apply for any of our courses, please complete an enrolment form by clicking the link below.
If you would like support completing the enrolment form, please contact us on 0300 421 4414 or ghwc@ghc.nhs.uk and we are more than happy to organise a time that is convenient to go through this with you over the phone.
Please get in touch if you are unsure if you meet the service and course criteria and wish to clarify if you are eligible to attend a specific course.
Support in attending courses
We understand it may feel daunting to attend a course for the first time. We take a friendly and informal approach to our course delivery and there is always an opportunity to speak with one of the course’s friendly Peer Support Workers or Facilitators before the course starts, where you will be able to ask questions and share any concerns.
We want to ensure you feel as comfortable as can be attending a course, therefore we offer both face-to-face and online courses. If you would like to bring a carer, friend or family member along to support you at the beginning or throughout the course, please let us know and we can ensure we book them onto the course with you, should this be helpful to you.
For online courses please let us know if you would like an opportunity to try out using the technology in advance, this is not a problem and can be organised with a member of our team.
We understand that some people may find it difficult to actively participate on our courses, especially at the start, and that is okay! We are happy for you to contribute in your own time and at your own pace. We always offer support for individual learning needs.
Meet the team
Our friendly Health and Wellbeing College team comprises Peer Support Workers, colleagues with clinical or health backgrounds and administration staff. Our Health and Wellbeing College is also supported by Experts by Experience – volunteers who regularly get involved in service projects, co-production of our courses and supporting their delivery, while using their own lived experience of living with long-term health conditions.
As a peer-led self-management service, we offer unique and friendly courses, facilitated by those with lived experience. Our Peer Support Workers understand what it is like to live with a long-term health condition and have their own experiences of self-management and recovery.
About our Peer Support Workers and course facilitators
Physical Health Peer Support Worker
Our Physical Health Peer Support Worker has her own lived experience of living with a long-term physical health condition and has many years’ experience working in both physical and mental healthcare for the NHS. She is passionate about people having access to information on the self-management of long-term physical health conditions and is the course lead for the ‘Live Better to Feel Better’ course.
Lead Peer Support Worker
Our Lead Peer Support Worker has lived experience of mental health difficulties and teaches on many of our courses. Originally a primary school teacher, she has worked in a variety of roles in mental health care for many years. She is passionate about the power of peer support and how those with lived experience, walking alongside others experiencing similar challenges, can have such a positive impact on recovery.
Qualified Mental Health Nurse
Our qualified mental health nurse works as a clinician in our team at the Gloucestershire Health and Wellbeing College. She said: “My interest is inclusion and recovery. I enjoy working alongside Peer Support Workers and I am always learning from them. I enjoy working closely with clinical teams and continuing to co-produce new courses to help complement some of the work they do.”
Feedback
“It was a really good experience. It reinforced my strengths, positive life choices and lifestyle, and has enabled me to move forward.”
“Fantastic courses run by very welcoming, knowledgeable and experienced facilitators. They created a supportive, nurturing and safe environment.”
“I have gained new ways in which to deal with my long- term condition and, crucially, the permission to do and be what I need when I need it. I can’t emphasise enough how important that aspect is. It is liberating. Thank you all so very, very much. You imbued a good atmosphere for all participants making it feel safe to share intimately.”
Contact us
E-mail:
Telephone:
Address:
Gloucestershire Health & Wellbeing College, NHS Training Hub, Invista, Ermin Street, Brockworth, Gloucester, GL3 4HP
