On October 27th this year we at Neath Port Talbot Mind in partnership with Neath Port Talbot Stroke Group launched the Neath Port Talbot Wellbeing After Stroke Project (NPT WASP) which was Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
The official launch of the project took place during Neath Port Talbot Stroke Group’s World Stroke Day Information Event, which took place at Aberavon Beach Hotel, with over 50 stroke specific exhibitors in attendance as well as guest speakers. The event had over 300 people attend, including Local MP Stephen Kinnock. It’s safe to say the event was a massive success!
The project aims to provide a range of mental health support to stroke and brain injury survivors, their family members and carers through supported self-help, counselling, wellbeing sessions, psycho-educational courses and signposting.
Once we receive an individuals referral into the project, an appointment will be arranged for you with the Project Pathfinder.
During this appointment we can get to know and understand your individual circumstances, wants and needs. Using this information we can help to tailor a support package that is individual to you, whether that be accessing only one part of the service such as one to one counselling, or accessing the full range of support that we have available.
One pathway of support available from the project is the Active Monitoring Supported Self Help programme. This is a six week programme with one to one support from one of our talking therapies practitioners. Active Monitoring Supported Self-help allows you to learn strategies to manage different life challenges and feel more like yourself. Within the programme there are a range of help pathways for each individual to choose from, including: Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Feeling alone, Grief and Loss, Self-esteem and managing anger.
Another form of support available from the project is one to one counselling. We provide regular sessions and space for you to talk about your situation and explore difficult feelings with an objective and supportive professional. Counselling can help you to deal with specific problems or patterns, cope with difficult situations, improve your relationships or develop better ways of living in general. The purpose of counselling is not to give advice, but to help you understand your feelings and behaviour better and to explore different perspectives and ways of coping.
NPT WASP also offers a range of group support with our Groupwork Facilitators. We offer a variety of stand alone wellbeing sessions, where you can join us to partake in activities to improve your emotional wellbeing including things such as guided meditation, mindful art, Tai Chi and much much more.
We also offer psycho-educational courses. These courses have been designed to support stroke survivors and family members/carers separately, in order for each person to experience appropriate peer support in a safe space.
The Courses cover a range of topics including:
Helpful and Unhelpful thinking habits
managing stress
Exploring Feelings, emotions and emotional dysregulation
Fatigue
Grief, loss and renewal
Relaxation and mindfulness
Problem solving
And exploring connections
