BSW Emotional Coping Skills Group

What is the emotional coping skills group?

The emotional coping skills group is a primary care intervention that is offered by the Complex Emotional Needs service in BaNES Swindon and Wiltshire.

Who is the group for?

The group is for people who have difficulties coping with strong emotions which are impacting on their lives.

All of us have emotions, which at times may be painful. Sometimes people struggle to tolerate painful emotions and may try to avoid or lessen these emotions. To cope, people may at times engage in behaviours that may be self destructive.

How can I join the group?

You will be referred to the Complex Emotional Needs Service by the Primary Care Liaison Service (PCLS).

Before attending, we will offer you what we call ‘formulation’ sessions with one of our clinicians. These are to help develop a shared understanding of your difficulties, and to work out if the group will meet your needs.

If there is a group already running after we’ve completed the formulation sessions, you will have to wait for the next group to start.

If we don’t think the group will meet your needs, your clinician will explore and discuss other services / interventions that may be more helpful for you.

What does the group involve?

The group involves developing an understanding of our emotions and how they relate to thoughts, physical sensations and behaviours; and how this may affect how we interact with other people.

We cover skills across three modules (topics):

Emotional regulation
Distress tolerance
Interpersonal effectiveness

The group also explores the ideas of mindfulness, validation (recognising and making sense of our feelings) and problem solving.

The skills taught are taken from Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approaches. These have been shown to help people with difficulties managing strong emotions.

How long does the group last?

The group runs for 10 weeks. Each session lasts for two hours with a 15 minute break half way through.

Where does the group take place?

The group is currently run online via MS Teams. The clinician you meet with will give you details of how to access the group.

How many people will be at the group?

There will be about 15 participants on every group. They will be the same for the entire 10 weeks.

Two members of our team will facilitate the group. Sometimes trainees may observe to learn to become a facilitators. We will tell you if there are any trainees observing at the start of the first session.

What will be expected of me?

We will encourage you to take part in group discussions, although you will never be put on the spot to speak.

To benefit, it is important to attend all 10 sessions. If you miss two or more sessions we will ask you to stop the course. If for any reason, you can’t attend a session, please contact the team.