Stress Cafe Meetups

Courses typically take place live and online via video. This saves on travel and time costs, and helps us keep course
costs low for attendees. Equally, class attendees may choose to meet up and
post course meetups are optional but encouraged e.g. see "Stress Cafe".

Check calendar for course dates and times, and/or get in touch to register your interest or to go onto our mailing
list.  Login details sent with registration confirmation.

Yes, we take an educational rather than a therapeutic approach in our training courses, and so our aim is to teach, not treat. In a therapeutic context for example, the focus can be on problems, losses and deficits, but in our approach, the focus instead is on giving up-to-date information, while developing attendees' strengths, interests and active problem-solving skills.  Our goal therefore, is to empower individuals with information, awareness and resources, so that they can make progress towards their chosen goals.  

This empowering process is supported though a number of mechanisms:​​

• ongoing, open communication with course tutors  to ask questions as these arise, either directly, or via the class rep
• ongoing, informal training courses on the same theme but at different /deeper levels,
• peer support through optional social events, meetups and activities, and
• one-to-one meetings with staff if/as needed to discuss learning and support needs, including any additional resources within local communities.​

Not at all.  In fact personalised one-to-one CBT  may be more appropriate for people who are very highly anxious or depressed.  Nevertheless, ideally everyone would do Stress Busters / mood managers course at some point as adults of all ages, backgrounds and cultures need to know how to manage modern life challenges of stress, anger, anxiety, low mood etc. It is our mission at The I Can Centre to offer people that information and ideally before a significant hit or emotional challenge occurs! In this way people can take back control so that they manage their moods, rather than have moods manage them!  

Any one of us can feel down or anxious at times, and this is not a reflection of weakness or "something wrong".  The opposite - such feelings can be a healthy response to common life experiences such as bereavement, loss or change. Longer term, these feelings can become prolonged simply because people do not have the right information or support to improve and manage how they feel.  Indeed this concern lead to the development of our Centre so that people might get this needed support and information to lift mood and ultimately feel great. 

Nevertheless, it is not necessary to explain why you are attending, though many do tell others quite reasonably that they are there "just for information", or to support a friend or family member. Typically attendees feel happy to have completed our courses and proud to show off their certificates. This is because attendees are usually: 

• kind and caring people because they are very interested in how they and others are feeling, 
• intuitive because they are able to recognise the huge role of mood in shaping so much of our every day experiences, including physical health, sleep, diet, the frequency and quality of relationships with others, our productivity and ability to concentrate,  our general emotional well-being, and our ability to gain enjoyment and quality from life, and 
• wise because they want to learn more, and ideally before a hit or an emotional emergency arises with subsequent high costs!

Kind, caring, smart people are likely to meet with each other socially, and to find their way to one of our courses! Therefore if you bump into someone you know, just smile, nod “hello” and chat as you would normally.

Writing is optional. Please do not let any writing or reading problems put you off. Instead talk to us to find solutions as your experiences, comments, views etc are most important, and you have the same right to information as anyone else.

• In terms of the slides or handouts, these have lots of pictures and graphics which should help you remember the discussion / point being covered; you can also phone us to get clarification where needed.
• Your views matter, and attendees are encouraged to give feedback on courses which can be done via a survey or by chatting with one of our staff. Any attendee is welcome to chat with a staff member separately, or another day re your views or anything else as needed.