Coach House Trust 2

Hello. So far in class we've done some work on goal setting and how important it is in recovery.  The services provided by the coach house trust (sessions in art, IT, woodwork, gardening) are structured in blocks of 14 weeks. In the first block goals will be identified- these vary between every member of the group and can lie anywhere between applying for college or art school, getting onto an employment pathway, or being able to regularly attend a class for its full 3 hour duration.
Before working at the art group, successful goal setting in my mind would have centered on a 'big' long term goal like finding a job, and I would have easily overlooked what for some people living with mental health problems are really significant achievements. The team who run the group talk a lot about setting 'soft' goals, and how they can be a really effective tool in the daily life of someone with mental ill health. Being able to recognise ways to facilitate softer outcomes is a skill that I hope I can learn more about, because the feedback from the group members is that it really makes a positive difference for them.

 For example, there was a lot of excitement from the art tutors when a mobile phone was provided for the group. In the building there is a staffed reception, so I didn't really get it. Some group members suffer from mood disorders- even although we've had lectures on mood disorders and I've read about them and taken notes on the symptoms, when I had them in front of me in real life, I didn't really know how to work with them..Some members of the group experience high anxiety levels and have sleep problems- being able to send a text outwith office hours could potentially save them a sleepless night and hours of unnecessary worry. The tutors explained that through feedback from group members experiencing low mood and being unable to attend class, it had become clear that the last thing they were likely to do was to pick up the phone and let anyone know. Similarly those who had paranoid thoughts were also unlikely to pick up the phone. Providing something as simple as a facility to be able to text can make a massive difference- I hope I can can keep an eye out for things like this in the future.