We’ve launched Active Rest sessions

At St Catherine’s our care is so much more than medical – we also offer physical, emotional and spiritual support, because often, the people we care for need support in more than one area to feel their best and to live well.

We caught up with Ruth, our Senior Occupational Therapist to hear about her exciting plans for new Active Rest sessions for patients. These sessions are delivered in a five week block for up to six people and include; adapted Tai-Chi, Guided Relaxation, Arts and Crafts, Therapy Through Nature and Creativity Through Cooking, all activities that teach people how to rest actively.

Ruth explained:

“I’ve done a lot of research around people with fatigue as part of their illness and found there are elements of certain activities that can restore your energy levels. For example, research has shown Tai-Chi helps symptoms like depression, poor sleep and fatigue in cancer patients. That got me thinking about what other activities could help people and led me to put together the five-week Active Rest programme. Every activity is low cost, can be done whilst sat down and replicated  at home to help keep people active even when they’re resting.”

But what can people expect from the sessions?

“In guided relaxation, the scripts we use are designed to help relax people,” shares Ruth. “In arts and crafts people can spend social time with others who understand what it’s like living with a life-limiting or terminal condition whilst creating, or can simply zone out doing painting. Cooking has therapeutic benefits so at the cooking session we’ll encourage people to bake and enjoy the foods they’re used to, or to decorate cupcakes – whatever will help them to feel better.

“Gardening is something I do to relax in my own downtime. As well as helping people relax it provides gentle upper limb work. In all activities it’s not about how much energy people have, it’s about what they create. In our gardening sessions, I hope to encourage people to cut flowers, do simple planting or make fatballs for the birds where they can enjoy mixing ingredients together and feeling oil on their fingers. When people are unwell, they often tell us they want to be outside to feel the warmth of the sun and breathe the fresh air. By making food for birds, it helps give back to nature but also gives people something tangible to take home where, if they can’t get outside, they can still watch birds from their window.

“I’ve been thinking about different activities to tie in with the seasons too, so in another cooking or gardening session I plan to get people working with herbs to create their own herb garden. We can enjoy the textures and smells of the herbs creating a sensory impact, and people can either take their herb garden home to enjoy for themselves or gift it to someone else.”

Attendance at our Active Rest classes is by referral only. If you, or someone you know, might benefit from attending, please speak with your care team, email stch.wellbeing@nhs.net, or give our Wellbeing team a call on 01293 447333.