ACP-UK Book Series – serie

This book is relevant for psychologists, psychosocial practitioners, healthcare leaders and those with an interest in staff support and wellbeing in healthcare settings. It showcases a wide variety of work using different psychological approaches, including systemic, psychodynamic, narrative, trauma focused and compassion practices. Psychologists are involved at many different levels in staff support, however it is by no means exclusively their domain; with over forty contributors, this book presents collaborations with many other professionals, including chaplains and colleagues from organizational development, human resources and occupational health, as well as describing how psychological thinking can be applied more broadly to staff wellbeing.The first part of the book introduces key psychological principles and ideas related to psychological staff support. This section discusses how to make equality diversity and inclusion central, presents relational and systemic models applied to the healthcare workforce, and concepts such as moral injury, and looks at how to evaluate the work. The second part focuses on practice and different ways of working with healthcare staff at an individual, team and organisational level. Included here are reflective practice models, the use of EMDR in supporting healthcare staff, debriefs, strategic working and support for senior staff.A key theme emerges throughout the book, which is that no amount of staff support resources and professionals can alone address broader issues such as discrimination and bullying in the workplace, healthcare funding and staff shortage. These, of course, fundamentally affect the wellbeing of staff. Ideas are put forward as to ways wellbeing practitioners may use their influence strategically to work with leadership and organisations to support improvements to working conditions and develop cultures of compassion and inclusivity.

Current statistics suggest that between one in seven and one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. Being diagnosed with breast cancer can leave you feeling anxious and depressed, fearful of the treatment to come and concerned about your mortality. The treatment itself can have a significant impact on your wellbeing as you are faced with marked changes in your physical appearance, sense of self and energy levels.There is lots of information available regarding cancer and its treatment, but little to help you cope with the emotional fall out. There are some excellent support services available but access to high quality evidence-based psychological interventions to help you cope is limited.This self-help book is the first of its kind: written by a highly experienced clinical psychologist, who has herself gone through the devastating impact of breast cancer, drawing from the evidence-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to provide you with essential coping skills. This book takes you through what your journey may look like through diagnosis, treatment and recovery, and explains the ACT skills that can help you to cope with the emotional impact of this disease and its treatment. The ACT approach enables you to respond differently to the painful thoughts and feelings that will arise during your cancer journey. Rather than fighting with them, the skills in this book help you to acknowledge and step back from your difficult thoughts and feelings so that you can focus on living your life in a way that will positively impact your physical and emotional wellbeing.

Trauma is everywhere, from relatively simple car accidents all the way through to childhood neglect and abuse, or devastating combat experiences. These events have specific emotional and behavioural effects on a person.Accessing good quality professional support with the aftereffects of trauma can be a lottery and people are often left wondering what on earth is happening to their mind. Statutory services can be underfunded and have long waiting lists. Private services can be very costly, outside of many people's budgets. So where can you get good quality, evidence-based advice to help yourself?This self-help book is the first of its kind: written by a highly experienced Clinical Psychologist, who has experienced significant trauma in her own life. Drawing on a range of therapeutic approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) among others, this book helps you to understand what is happening to you in the aftermath of trauma and how to cope with these impacts. The approaches used in this book enable you to respond differently to the painful thoughts and feelings you have, and to recognise when your natural responses may be preventing you from moving forward towards the life you want to live. You will gain an understanding of how trauma works, enabling you to respond to yourself more compassionately, and you will learn tried and tested skills to cope well, moving from mere surviving, to thriving.

Current statistics suggest that one in ten women and those assigned female at birth of reproductive age in the UK suffer from Endometriosis. It is estimated that there are 176 million people worldwide living with the condition. On average, it takes eight years from the onset of symptoms to receive a diagnosis of endometriosis. For Kirsty, it took 20 years for a formal diagnosis. Living with endometriosis, often without a diagnosis or explanation for your symptoms, can have a significant impact on your mental health, your wellbeing, and your self-esteem. It can result in disconnection from others and high levels of self-criticism towards yourself. Endometriosis fuels our threat systems and can push us to disconnect from others, ourselves and the things that are important to us. There are many resources available now about endometriosis, its symptoms, and its treatment. However, there is little available to think about the psychological impact and regaining balance and control over an incurable condition. There are now some specialist endometriosis centres in the UK that offer psychological therapy and interventions as part of their treatment, however, these are not available to all. This self-help book is the first of its kind: written by a highly experienced clinical psychologist, who has lived with endometriosis herself. Drawing from the evidence-based compassion focussed therapy (CFT) approach to provide you with essential coping skills to manage the psychological impact of the condition. The CFT approach enables you to respond differently to the difficulties that may arise from living with endometriosis, including understanding the condition itself, managing the impact it has on your relationships and bringing compassion to the distress associated with endometriosis. This book aims for you to be able to connect with your difficulties in a compassionate way and to seek care and connection during a time where you may feel alone and disconnected.

Psoriasis is a challenging skin condition impacting all areas of life, including the choice of activities people engage in, their relationships and their emotional wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem. These impacts often continue even when the condition is in remission, such is the psychological toll that many people experience. Despite this, people with psoriasis can find it hard to access support for the challenges they face.This self-help book is the first of its kind, written by an experienced clinical psychologist who has lived with psoriasis since childhood. From this unique perspective, the book explores cutting edge research investigating the emotional and psychological impact of psoriasis, drawing on the author's personal experience and a range of tried and tested therapeutic approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT).Topics covered include:Stress and depression in psoriasisUnderstanding feelings of shame and low self esteemCoping with pain, discomfort and itchHow to deal with unwanted attention and other people's reactionsHow to improve relationships and intimacyCoping with treatmentsIncreasing self-compassionExpert advice and practical tips will help you navigate the emotional challenges and improve your psychological wellbeing, making this an essential book for anyone with psoriasis, as well as those who support them, including their family, friends and clinicians