02 July 2008
People in Derwentside who are unemployed are being given the opportunity to learn mindfulness meditation to help them return to work.
Truepotential in partnership with Derwentside Employment Team are offering the 5 week course throughout 2008 in an effort to address the stress and anxiety returning to the workplace can cause.
The course starting in June is based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme established by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the USA, and uses many of the techniques recently featured in the BBC2 programme ‘Alternative Therapies’.
The 5 week programme carries on the work started by Truepotential and Derwentside Employment Team in 2007, with over 100 people attending mindfulness-based workshops aimed at raising confidence and self- esteem.
“The course as far as we are aware is the first mindfulness-based programme to be offered directly to the unemployed in the UK. This pioneering work is a testimony to the forward thinking approach adopted by Derwentside Employment Team and builds on the success achieved in 2007”. (Gary Heads Truepotential)
The people of Derwentside now have the opportunity to learn new skills aimed at encouraging them to take personal responsibility for progressing their lives, and widening their available options.