Workshops and courses
About our courses
An easy way to get some help with anxiety, stress, sleep and other problems is to attend one of our practical skills-based courses or workshops.
It’s normal to feel anxious before attending a course or workshop with new people. Students have told us that they have found the sessions really helpful once they took the step to come along.
The workshops and courses are designed to be educational and you won’t be expected to talk about your personal experiences or feelings if you don’t want to.
They are for Manchester Met students only and we ask that you register with our service in advance. If you haven’t registered this academic year, please complete our registration form. You can read our Privacy Notice.
Browse the sessions by type below, or view them by date on CareerHub.
Can’t make our live sessions?
Don’t worry if you can’t make one of our live workshops or courses, there are plenty of other ways to get support.
We have a range of self-help information and resources, including our Wellbeing podcasts. You can also request a one-to-one appointment to talk to our Counselling, Mental Health and Wellbeing team.
Virtual workshops
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Mindfulness
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing greater attention to the present moment, gently becoming more aware of ourselves and what we’re experiencing and doing. This doesn’t always come naturally to us, so we can train the brain to more easily be present and not get carried away with thoughts about the past or worries about the future. It’s also a valuable form of self-care.
What will I get from the session?
Mindfulness and mindful meditation has been shown to help many people better manage stress and anxiety and improve mood, but mindfulness isn’t just about helping us through life’s challenges, it’s also a great tool to help us get the most out of the good times too. A regular mindfulness practice can help improve focus, increase our sense of wellbeing, and help us better connect with friends and family. In these sessions we also include some kindness and self-compassion practices, as research suggests that being self-compassionate is positively correlated with good mental health.
No experience is needed for the workshops, they are largely practical. We will talk you through the practices, and you are welcome to attend as many sessions as you like.
Sessions usually take place every Tuesday and Thursday:
11:00am-11.45am every Tuesday
3:00pm-3:45pm every Thursday
Delivery: Workshops are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom. There is no pressure to speak in the session or have your camera on if you prefer not to.
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Managing Anxiety
This online workshop will explore skills and techniques to help you manage anxiety and worry in day-to-day life.
The key objectives are:-
To understand what anxiety is
To understand how it affects us
To learn the skills to help manage anxiety
Delivery: Workshops are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
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Managing Stress
This online workshop will explore skills and techniques to help you manage and reduce stress in day to day life.
Delivery: Workshops are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom. There is no pressure to speak in the session or have your camera on if you prefer not to.
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Building Confidence
This online workshop provides practical advice and guidance on how to build your self-confidence, and how you can use these skills to thrive during your studies.
Delivery: Workshops are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom. There is no pressure to speak in the session or have your camera on if you prefer not to.
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Overcoming Sleep Problems
Good sleeping patterns are shown to have a positive effect on our mental wellbeing and physical health. This online workshop will look at what affects our ability to sleep, as well as practical tips for getting to and staying asleep.
Delivery: Workshops are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom. There is no pressure to speak in the session or have your camera on if you prefer not to.
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Assertiveness Skills
You will learn skills and techniques for assertive communication which will help you express yourself more clearly, openly and confidently.
Delivery: Workshops are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom. There is no pressure to speak in the session or have your camera on if you prefer not to.
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Low mood
Low mood can be a deeply unpleasant experience affecting how we view the world, the people around us and what we think of ourselves. It can stop us from doing what we want and need to do. It can make us lose touch with our interests and passions. Daily-life can feel too much of an effort whether it is being around others or taking care of ourselves.
In this workshop you will learn to understand your low mood, its causes and what keeps it going. You will also learn how familiar patterns of understanding and acting can maintain problems. You will have the opportunity to start finding ways of managing and overcoming low mood.
Delivery: Courses are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
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Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Anxious? Feeling low? Want to feel better?
Why not try EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)?
EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, based on the same energy meridians (pathways) used in traditional acupuncture which has been used to treat physical and emotional ailments for over five thousand years. But EFT doesn’t involve needles!
It’s a brain/body/emotions reprogramming technique where you tap gently on different parts of the body with your fingertips while you repeat a phrase out loud and pay attention to your emotions.
Why not give it a go? It doesn’t take long to learn: after the demonstration you will receive a detailed handout explaining how to use it …….and then you can use it anytime!
Before you sign up, please watch this short video where Professor Stewart demonstrates EFT:
Video: Professor Tony Stewart Talking About EFT
Delivery: Workshops are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
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Overcoming self-criticism
We all criticise ourselves from time to time but for some people, their self-critic is a near constant companion; putting them down for even the smallest mistake, calling them names, telling them they are inadequate.
When feeling not good enough, self-criticism can be seen as a way of pushing yourself to do better and be better, but more often it is harmful rather than helpful, having a negative impact on mood and wellbeing and undermining self-esteem.
If you struggle with self-criticism, you are not alone. It is a common mental habit, which is helpful to break.
In the workshop, we will be:
Getting to know our self-critic
Its functions
How it stimulates the threat system
How we can start to change our relationship with ourselves from a self-critical, threat-stimulating, one to a self-compassionate soothing one.
Delivery: Courses are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
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Emotional regulation
Keeping it together under academic pressure.
This clinic is designed for managing stress when you feel overwhelmed and distressed.
Please sign up for parts 1 and 2, and book in for a 1-1 follow-up appointment with your counsellor or adviser to review your progress.
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Look after your mate
We know that most students talk to friends when they’re having a tough time. You can talk to friends in confidence and they help to keep challenges in perspective.
Friendship can play a key role in helping someone live with or recover from any difficulties they are facing. But it can be hard to know what to say when a friend is struggling.
This session will give you the necessary tips and tools to support a friend in need.
The workshop includes key practical tips including:
- spotting signs your friend is struggling
- how to start a conversation
- how to support a friend: listening and motivating
- signposting to further support
- looking after your own wellbeing as a supporter
Virtual courses
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Anxiety Clinic
Our new Anxiety Clinic is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques (CBT) and focuses on helping you to manage anxiety so you’re able to get on with more of what you want to do. Students are referred to the Anxiety Clinic following an initial appointment with the Counselling Mental Health & Wellbeing Service.
The clinic is in two parts and explores what happens physically and emotionally when we feel anxious and the impact on our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Practical skills are provided to help you to manage anxiety effectively and you will have the opportunity to put these skills in to practice between sessions.
These are linked workshops, so we ask that if you sign up you are committed to attending both sessions.
Delivery: Courses are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
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'Only Human' - Overcoming Social Anxiety
Social anxiety can make life really difficult. All sorts of day-to-day things can become a nightmare; going to the supermarket; making a phone call; buying a coffee; going to lectures; getting on the bus…
In these two part one hour webinars find out what social anxiety is, what keeps it going, and most importantly how to overcome it with evidence based strategies. Maybe even push yourself to make a comment in the chat box, that would be great if you could interact in the group.
It takes time, courage and practice but this could be a starting point for you.
These are linked workshops, so we ask that if you sign up you are committed to attending both sessions.
Delivery: Courses are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
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Coping with Eating Distress: 5 week course
This course is part of the student pathway for eating disorders, a joint venture between Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), the NHS Eating Disorders Service in Manchester and The University of Manchester.
It is for those who struggle with unhelpful eating patterns, which can include restricting, bingeing, purging, compensation with over-exercise – or any combination of these. It is a psycho-educational programme to better understand these vicious cycles and actively change them.
The overall purpose of the group is to help you recognise triggers for your unhelpful eating patterns and support you in changing them, to learn better coping strategies for difficult thoughts and feelings and encourage you to build these skills by practising them more regularly.
This course helps you to develop problem-solving skills to address and sensitivity to your body’s signals, aided by an introduction to mindfulness. It provides a supportive environment for discussing numerous issues that come up when you are in the process of making changes.
This term the course will be over 5 weeks and it is important that you commit to these 5 weeks and attend all sessions as each class builds on the preceding one.
If you are interested in attending and if you are already seeing a counsellor or wellbeing or mental health advisor, please ask them about the referral to the course. If you have not used the Counselling, Mental Health and Wellbeing Service before, please make an appointment.
Date: Tuesdays, 7 November to 5 December 2023
Time: 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Place: Courses are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
Booking: To attend this course you need to be referred by the service, please email counselling@mmu.ac.uk
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Understanding loss and grief
Within our lifetimes we all experience bereavement, loss and grief. Bereavement is often associated with the death of a loved one however, loss and grief is much broader. Many different personal losses such as loss of identity, relationship break up, health, death of a pet, relocation, loss of normalcy or freedom, routine, sense of connection with others can leave us feeling devastated, heartbroken, lost, hopeless, and ultimately cause the same emotional and physical symptoms of grief. Sadly, the inherent emotional pain associated with other losses can be unappreciated and undervalued.
Any type of loss can be difficult. It is completely normal for a person to grieve when they lose something or someone important to them. Grief can affect different people in varied ways. It may be difficult to make sense of what is happening and sometimes loss can undermine our sense of self. People experience a range of emotions, such as sadness, anger, guilt and anxiety. Although grief is a natural response to loss it can feel overwhelming and create a variety of conflicting emotions, that can disrupt physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think coherently.
We would like to invite you to join this psycho-educational workshop to gain a greater understanding of the process of loss, grief and bereavement. This workshop will also explore common emotional and physical responses to grief and consider ways of nurturing resilience and practicing self-care.
Delivery: Courses are currently being delivered virtually using Zoom.
Counselling
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