Recorded Workshops & Interactive Resources

Handouts for each recorded workshop can be found on the right hand side of this page.

Challenging Unhelpful Thinking Habits (Students)

We can all fall into unhelpful thinking habits, and when our way of life has changed so much since lockdown, unhelpful thinking habits can make things even worse. This recorded workshop is suitable for anybody who feels stuck or held back by their patterns of thinking. The aims and objectives are to:

  • Develop a basic understanding of the interplay between thoughts, feelings and behaviour
  • Recognise how some patterns of thinking are unhelpful and lead to emotions and actions that are not in our best interests
  • Identify what your unhelpful thinking habits are
  • Consider alternative more helpful responses and how to practice these

You may find it helpful to download the worksheet handouts which accompany this workshop from the panel on the right.

Challenging Unhelpful Thinking Habits (Staff)

This workshop is the same as the one for students (above) but with examples more appropriate for staff. Click here to access this recorded live workshop.

Anxiety Workshop Part 1: Understanding Anxiety

This workshop is suitable for anybody who feels stuck or held back by their anxiety. The anxiety workshop is divided in two parts. In this workshop we will be:

  • Exploring what anxiety means, the function it serves and its causes
  • Understanding how anxiety works as well as what maintains it
  • Investigating your own individual experience of anxiety and how it keeps you feeling stuck.

In part 2 of the anxiety workshop, we will use the information gathered from this workshop to consider alternative more helpful responses and how to practice these.

Anxiety Workshops Part 2(a): Managing Avoidance

This workshop is suitable for anybody who feels stuck or held back by their anxiety. The anxiety workshop is divided in two parts. In this workshop we will be:

  • Understanding the role of avoidance and how it maintains anxiety
  • Exploring alternatives to avoidance and how you can practice them
  • Safely habituating to anxious sensations or situations through exposure exercises
  • Testing negative predictions through behavioural experiments

Anxiety Workshop Part 2(b): Managing Worry

This workshop is suitable for anybody who feels stuck or held back by their anxiety. The anxiety workshop is divided in two parts. In this workshop we will be:

  • Outlining how to manage worry
  • Distinguishing between what is and is not within your control
  • Investigating practical steps you can take when feeling stuck

Reducing the stress of Perfectionism

This recorded workshop explores how perfectionism robs us of that glow of achievement and ultimately makes us miserable. Having high standards is good but not if they make everything in life so challenging that we are exhausted before we have even started!

If you find that you are never really satisfied with your achievements, spend a lot of time procrastinating rather than working and are increasingly self-critical, then this could be the workshop for you.

You will learn:

  • About the psychology of the perfectionist

  • How perfectionism becomes self-defeating.

  • Ways to challenge your perfectionist mindset.

Make the most of your mind: the psychology behind effective learning

This recorded workshop is full of study tips based on published research on effective study habits. It explains the science behind effective learning and advises on how to build strong memories and use your revision and study time productively.

In addition, here is a podcast with further advice on how to improve your study and here are some links:

Developing Skills in Assertiveness

  • Do you sometimes feel trapped in a limited range of responses to the demands of others?
  • Do you sometimes find it difficult to express yourself?
  • How do you handle criticism?
  • Are you your own biggest critic?

This workshop will look briefly at the different communication styles which contrast with an assertive style: passive, passive-aggressive, aggressive. We will then look at how an assertive style can allow us to be more effective communicators and help us to find a better balance in our relationships.

Managing PhD Stress

  • Are you finding PhD studies stressful?
  • Are you, for example, avoiding work out of a lack of confidence?
  • Or are you disengaging out of anxiety and a fear of seeking academic support?
  • Are you unsure how to realistically develop as an autonomous doctoral scholar?

In this workshop we will work towards developing a deeper understanding of the particular stresses during your journey towards completing your PhD. We will also look at ways to offset the inevitable difficulties and identify ways you might be inadvertently making things more difficult for yourself. We will focus on some psychological issues specific to the PhD and examine ways of navigating them more effectively.

Interactive workshops

Now or Never? Tackling Procrastination

This fun interactive resource takes about half an hour to complete and will help you overcome the procrastination habit.

More interactive resources to follow.

Self Help Resources

Self help techniques can help you to manage your mental health and wellbeing. Below are some resources that you might find helpful.

Our support wheel can help you to identify what support you need.

NHS Self Help Guides

These NHS Self-Help Guides are a useful starting point to understand the difficulties you may be experiencing. They offer guidance on mental health problems from stress, shyness, anxiety and depression to anger, alcohol dependence, domestic violence and eating disorders. Each guide has an introductory video and is available to download as a leaflet or audio file.

Resources for Chinese students

We have information on physical illness and mental health for Chinese students. It is available in Chinese and in English.

Interactive apps and online courses

Health Assured's app provides you with interactive resources to help track and improve your wellbeing. Within the app, you will get access to a library of resources personalised to your preferences, wellbeing articles, videos, mood trackers, 4-week plans, mini health checks and more.

Qwell provides free, safe and anonymous online mental health support whenever you need it.

Living Life to the Full offers free courses tackling low mood, stress and resiliency.

Student Minds offer free, online courses to support you with managing your mental health at university.

Students Against Depression offers comprehensive information on depression, resources to tackle it and the opportunity to discuss it with other UK students.