Looking After Me

The Looking After Me carers course is about carers making time to look after their own health and wellbeing. It aims to help them develop self-management skills to take more control of their situation and make a difference to their lives.

The sessions are delivered by trained and accredited tutors who have experience of being a carer themselves. They are primarily for adult carers who care for another adult. Carers of children with life-long and life-limiting conditions can attend but may find our Supporting Parents Programme more appropriate.

Course participants learn new skills to help them cope with their caring situation and develop the confidence to take more control of their lives. This can help them be realistic about the impact of their caring situation on themselves and their family.

Course participants also learn to:

• Develop more effective relationships with health and care professionals
• Use their skills and knowledge to lead a fuller life
• Have access to a wider support network through contact with others in similar situations
• The course can also benefit the people being cared for, as carers share skills and techniques and relationships are improved
• Juggle paid work with caring responsibilities.

Carers who learn to self-manage their situation are less likely to take unscheduled time off work. Carers who self-manage are less likely to develop health problems as a result of their caring situation. Carers who look after their own health may be able to continue caring for longer so that those they care for are less likely to need long-term care

Looking After Me is available in different community languages and the Expert Patients Programme CIC can tailor courses to suit the needs of your community.

For complete information please call the Expert Patients Programme CIC on Freephone 0800 988 5550 or contact us by email today.

What course participants say

Safina - Halifax

“At first I thought that I couldn’t spare the time, two hours a week, but the course was a revelation – it showed me there was light at the end of the tunnel and completely turned my life around.”

Safina has a full and busy life working as a driving instructor, looking after her children and caring for her husband who lives with bipolar disorder. But just a few short years ago, prior to taking part in an Expert Patients Programme course, she was on anti-depressants struggling to cope with the effects of her husband’s condition.

More on Safina's story

Enquiry form