To find a private therapist in your area

• BACP Find a Therapist
• Counselling Directory

Some mindfulness / meditation resources (websites)

• What is mindfulness?
• Center for Mindful Self-Compassion - This is a new wesbite combining the meditations of Chris Germer and Kristin Neff. It has different resources but this directs you straight to the meditation page, which you can download or listen to via web browser.
• This Beautiful Work – Joanna has recorded and made available some mini-meditations, I particularly like Presuming Okayness (scroll down page to locate.)
• Meditation Oasis - has all sorts of resources (most free!) so take a look!
• Meditation Oasis podcast is fabulous. They have many guided meditations – including anger and inner child* – you can either listen from your web browser or subscribe and listen on your mobile device.
• Jon Kabat-Zinn – he is one of the pioneers of mindfulness in therapy.

*Inner child work can be a very powerful emotional experience; please be mindful of your capacity to engage with this material and take care of yourself/seek support as/if necessary

Some mindfulness / meditation / anxiety resources (smart phone apps)

• Breath Ball - I love this app because you can change settings to suit your breath capacity. Simple, effective. If you are stressed, anxious, depressed, panicked, try it.
• Whats Up - I think this is a lovely, simple and free app with loads of resources to help manage emotional storms.
• Stop, Breathe, Think – free, but I think you have to register.
• Insight Timer – simple bell chimes (and background sounds if you like) to facilitate your own guided meditations.
• Meditation Oasis - they do a good sleep meditation.
• Headspace – free and paid for services.

Diet and nutrition

Another tool to add to your mood maintenance toolbox is an awareness of your diet and nutritional intake.

• Dale Pinnock  – I really like Dale’s approach to food and nutrition and he has some tasty, simple (usually!) and affordable recipes.
• Food and Your Mood - A lovely leaflet produced by Nottingham University Hospitals.
• And bananas are great for mental and physical health! (as well as lots of other foods like avocado, broccoli, salmon, seeds and nuts etc etc but I really like bananas!)

Exercise

It can be difficult to engage in exercise when you are not feeling well mentally. But when you feel up to it, you might like these free resources.

• The Body Coach on You Tube

Feeling isolated and want to connect with others?

• Meet Up – tap in your postcode and search for stuff you like to do.

Video

• Brene Brown - presented on the power of vulnerability (watch this first) and shame. As well as being hugely important topics, she is also a fantastic speaker.
• Jill Bolte - this video blows my left and right brain to peices! It is such a wonderful experiential story of what it is like to be fully be in your right brain (the 'emotional" brain) when the left brain ('the thinking brain") doesn't function any more. From a brain researcher studying strokes who had a stroke. Beautiful viewing!

Self help resources

• Centre for Clinical Interventions: Psychotherapy, Research, Training - There is great stuff in both the Consumer and Professionals section – look through both.
• Get Self Help - a truly clunky website! However, there is material on here you may find useful.
• NHS Self Help Leaflets - produced by Northumerbland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and used widely in mental health services across the UK.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) specific

• Psychology Tools

Books

• As a good and engaging introduction to our emotional life, ourselves and our relationships, anything by Brene Brown.
• Why Love Matters  – Sue Gerhardt (this is a great read, and I think quite accessible even without any knowledge of neuroscience!). Sue talks a lot about how we are shaped neurobiologically/emotionally by our attachment figures and relationships.
• The Mindful Path to Self Compassion – Christopher Germer

Local support groups

Google local support groups in your area. For example:

• Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS)
• The Survivors Trust (for men and women who have suffered any form of sexual abuse, violence or rape as either adults and/or as children)

Further links

Mind - a wonderful mental health charity that has an abundance of resources

Sane - another wonderful charity that also offers a helpline for clients and carers, family, friends

Rape Crisis England and Wales - supporting women (predominately) who have survived raped, sexually abuse and assualt and/or domestic violence

The Survivors Trust - supporting male and female survivors of rape, sexual violence and/or childhood sexual abuse

Womans Trust - helping women affected by domestic violence

Safeline - support for men, women and children who have survied sexual abuse and rape

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)