Mindful Self Care Course for Consultant Staff and GPs

This Covid-19 era is a challenging time for everyone, especially for GPs and Consultant staff. We are often expected to demonstrate calm leadership at all times but without good self-care strategies, we may find it hard to cope adaptively with the intense work pressures that now exist.

Mindfulness approaches teach us how to look after ourselves wisely and kindly so that we may care effectively for others through this pandemic and beyond. And there is growing evidence that when health professionals practice mindfulness, there are beneficial effects not just for them, but for the patients under their care (Grepmair et al, 2007; Annelrving et al, 2009).

With the support of DHSA and a range of LHN wellbeing and education committees, these introductory mindfulness courses are being made available to GPs and consultant staff who wish to learn mindfulness skills for use in their personal and professional lives. Participants are asked to practice meditation for 15 minutes on a daily basis in order to test out the potential benefits for themselves. Practicing the meditations at home for at least 15 minutes daily enhances the benefits over the duration of the course and beyond.

We have learned some things from the pandemic restrictions including the fact that some people prefer face to face groups while others prefer the ease of access that the late evenings online groups offer.

For the foreseeable future, we will be offering both options on an alternating basis. The next course in August will be held online using Zoom. You just need to click on the invite link and enter the password we send before each class.

Details: Every Wednesday for 6 weeks

Dates: 19^th August – 23^rd September Time: 8.00 - 9.15 pm

Venue: online using Zoom (free download via https://zoom.us/)

Cost: $360 (cost includes course booklet and guided meditations). CPD certificates are available at the end of the course on request.

Download flyer here.

To register, please contact admin@mindfulscp.com Further information: www.mindfulscp.com

Course Developer:

Dr Maura Kenny, MBChB, MRCPsych, FRANZCP

Dr Maura Kenny is a Psychiatrist and Coordinator of the Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Programs at the Centre for the Treatment of Anxiety & Depression, CALHN. She is also a Teaching Partner for the Oxford Mindfulness Centre at Oxford University. She specialises in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy in the areas of Stress, Mood and Anxiety disorders, and has used these approaches in clinical and workplace settings. She has extensive experience of providing mindfulness courses to doctors and other health professionals. This 6 week course has now been taken up in health settings interstate and overseas with outcome data showing reductions in stress and increases in self-compassion.