Nature-based ways to resource yourself and your practice

The impact on GP’s of prolonged overload, and the stress of facing ever-rising demands with shrinking resources, needs creative responses. This Woodland Resilience Immersion offers a different way to gain new insights and skills, to raise your resilience and nourish your wellbeing.

These programmes have been jointly developed by Hazel Hill Trust, Westminster Centre for Resilience & the BHMA. Following two very successful pilot programmes with hospital doctors, they are now offering a pilot group tailored to GP’s.

In 2018, Westminster Centre for Resilience recognised that a more immersive, catalytic process than the typical half or one-day session in an urban training room was what many health professionals needed.

Hazel Hill Wood have several years’ experience of delivering nature-based resilience programmes for a range of front-line services. These Immersions offer a unique combination of both teams’ expertise. The format for the June programme is a one-night, 28-hour residential, including the following elements:

• Conservation work and physical activities together to de-stress, relax into the woods and shift gear.
• An evening campfire circle for sharing, mutual support and insights on work stresses
• Learning about resilience from the woodland ecosystem, and practical tools for our own wellbeing and our teams.
• Practicing simple techniques based on applied neurobiology, mindfulness and traditional sources which can be used in everyday work.
• Processes and time to consider better approaches for tackling work challenges and systemic pressures.

CREDENTIALS

Whilst the idea of Nature immersion for medics may seem novel, there is good research evidence for it. For example, the book Your Brain on Nature, written by two doctors at Harvard Medical School, sets out extensive research support for the specific benefits of Nature contact in offsetting high levels of stress, Directed Attention Fatigue, information overload, and excessive ‘screen time’.

The pilot programmes at Hazel Hill have been formally evaluated on several measures by Westminster Centre for Resilience, and showed statistically significant impacts. A summary of their evaluation is available.

FACILITATORS

The partner organisations involved can draw on a wide range of facilitators: Immersions have at least two facilitators, one a medical professional, one from Hazel Hill, both with extensive experience of resilience programmes for the health sector.

The hosting team for June:

David Peters:Trained as a GP, and has worked in a range of professional roles in the NHS. Founder and Director of the Westminster Centre for Resilience (WCR), now an Emeritus Professor.

Alan Heeks:Many years’ experience in using ecosystems with groups as a model for human resilience, and has created the Seven Seeds of Natural Happiness model. See www.naturalhappiness.net.  Founder/Chair of Hazel Hill Trust.

Julie Chinn: was in practice as a GP for many years: she now works in a non clinical role supporting fellow professionals. This includes being a Case Manager for the Wessex Deanery Professional support unit, helping trainees across the specialties, teaching on the vocational training scheme, appraising fellow GPs as well as working as a coach and mentor.

Jane Sanders:has many years’ experience as a psychotherapist and group leader, with a special interest in ecopsychology and deep ecology, with several years’ experience of leading resilience and wellbeing groups at Hazel Hill Wood.

ABOUT HAZEL HILL WOOD

Hazel Hill is a magical 70-acre wood, near Salisbury. It has simple, yet beautifully crafted off-grid wooden buildings with lovely indoor and outdoor group spaces, basic single or twin bedrooms (or camping), good hot showers, civilised compost loos, plus a sauna. See more at www.hazelhill.org.uk. The wood is run by an educational charity whose aims are to promote wellbeing, resilience and sustainability through programmes at the wood for a wide variety of client groups. The food is outstanding!

COST AND BOOKING

The total cost is £130 per person, including facilitation, accommodation, and food.  Single room supplement £20.Group limited to ten participants: book soon to be sure of a place.

TO BOOK

Download details here WOODLAND RESILIENCE IMMERSION for GP’s

Please email Nicky Green for a booking form or phone: 07854 089 239 

FOR OTHER ENQUIRIES or MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Alan Heeks data@workingvision.com, 07976 602787