What is the Life Skills Programme?
Based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), our Life Skills Programme is designed to help you learn more about how we think and how this can influence our actions in helpful or unhelpful ways.
The programme is delivered over the course of six weeks in 90 minute sessions. With the help of a series of easy-to-follow worksheets and expert guidance from a trained facilitator at each session, you can learn how to better manage the stress of everyday life, recognise and manage unhelpful thoughts, learn new ways of thinking and ultimately begin the journey to a healthier and more confident life.
This programme is suitable for you if you are experiencing anxiety, mild to moderate depression or if you are simply looking to learn more about your mental health and how to look after it.
We are now offering our Life Skills Group Programme in both a virtual and a face-to-face group setting, to allow you to choose the most convenient option for you.
Registering for the Life Skills Programme
Before signing up, we ask that participants are available to attend all six consecutive weeks of this programme.
This programme is not a substitute for CPD or teaching. Please do not register for this course as part of your professional training as you are taking a valuable space from someone who needs it.
For the virtual programme, we ask all participants to turn on and leave their cameras on for the duration of the programme. Thank you.
There is a refundable booking fee of €30 for this programme (or €10 if you are a student, unemployed, over 65 or hold a medical card). You can request a refund by emailing info@aware.ie upon completion. Alternatively, if you enjoyed the course and are in a position to support Aware, you can leave your booking fee as a donation.
Programme registration is now closed but you can register your interest for our January programmes below
Please note if you are a student, unemployed, over 65, or hold a medical card, you are eligible for reduced refundable booking fee.
To avail of this discount, please use discount code 20off (enter this code at bottom of booking page).
> Reliable Wi-Fi and a quiet area with some space to complete worksheets
> Arrange to print 26 worksheets that will be emailed to you prior to the start date
Zoom is compatible with smartphones and tablets, but we strongly recommend using a laptop or PC.
You will receive Zoom details in advance. If you do not receive communication from Aware after registering, check your spam/junk folder. If it is not to be found, please contact info@aware.ie.
If you do not have a zoom account, you will need to create an account and download the desktop app.
Aware is unable to offer technical support. Please contact Zoom for additional information and support. Zoom Technical Support >>
Not sure which of our programmes are for you? Watch our information session on our Life Skills Programme, Relatives & Friends Programme and Living Well with Bipolar Disorder Programme, designed to help you gain a better understanding of the programmes, prior to signing up.
Proven Results
The Life Skills Group Programme has been developed by Dr. Chris Williams, a Professor of Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Glasgow and recognised expert in the area of CBT.
The Life Skills programme has been independently evaluated by Aware. The evaluation showed a statistically significant improvement in participants’ self-reported levels of anxiety and depression after completing the programme.
This means that participants of the Life Skills programme reported less levels of anxiety and depression after completing the programme.
Life Skills is also consistent with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for the treatment of depression and anxiety. NICE is an organisation which provides independent, authoritative and evidence-based guidance on the most effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat ill-health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our programme is aimed at individuals, who reside in Ireland, who are experiencing mild to moderate depression, stress and/or anxiety and would like to learn new ways to deal with life’s challenges.
Our programme is aimed at individuals, who reside in Ireland, who are experiencing mild to moderate depression, stress and/or anxiety and would like to learn new ways to deal with life’s challenges.
One 90 minute session per week for six consecutive weeks.
Nobody will be obliged to share personal information or experiences.
Yes, only individuals aged 18 years and over may take part in Aware’s Life Skills programme.
What to Expect
There are six modules delivered over the six sessions and the programme includes the following topics:
Our programme is aimed at individuals, who reside in Ireland, who are experiencing mild to moderate depression, stress and/or anxiety and would like to learn new ways to deal with life’s challenges.
This session introduces cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which forms the foundation of the complete programme. It helps us to understand that what we think and do influences how we feel.
The less we do, the worse we feel, the worse we feel, the less we do. This session focuses on identifying how you currently spend your time and how to make changes, encouraging you to start doing things which can help you feel better.
This session focusses on helping you to recognise and manage unhelpful thinking patterns and encourages you to challenge unhelpful thoughts and replace them with more helpful ones.
Everything is achievable if it’s broken down into small enough steps. This session introduces a 4-step plan to help you tackle problems and make positive changes in your life.
Things we say to ourselves can stick in our heads and we begin to believe them. This session helps you re-build your self-confidence and learn to like yourself again. It also looks at how to become more assertive.
This session helps you identify behaviours in your life which may make you feel better initially but which may lead to problems over time, and how to alter those behaviours. It also focusses on how to manage our temper. The final piece of this module shares some simple things that you can build into your everyday life to help you feel happier, fitter and more positive.
Feedback from past participants
- “Thank you for giving me hope and for giving me back control of my happiness!”
- “This 6 week course helped me change my thought process and see things differently. I have learned coping mechanisms that help me manage the more difficult days in life.”
- “I feel by practicing with these tools daily I will be able to get back to the old confident me that through life pressures seemed to have got lost.”
- “An amazing, potentially life changing course that is user friendly and welcoming. The skills are invaluable”
