"This is a very worthwhile project"

Staff attitude

I attended the condition management programme in Ballymoney over the last few months. My first meeting was a telephone call with Marie, we chatted about how my illnesses impacting my life. Over the months I attended online teams meetings where lots of different topics were covered - eg pain management ,mental health etc. This was very helpful and I got lots of information.

I liked the format of this where you could type in the chat function as I'm not very good at speaking up. You can choose to have your camera off or on so anonymity is there if this is your preference .This has given me more confidence in advocating for myself as every question was treated with dignity and respect and all the online  professionals were really lovely.

Even though some of the meetings weren't really applicable to me I attended most of them and sometimes found out something useful. I also had several face to face meetings with Marie who is such a lovely lady. She put me at ease right from the moment we met, so easy to talk to, she's friendly jolly, funny, supportive, kind and had lots of great strategies tips and tricks.

I gained lots of knowledge in these 1 to 1 meetings. I now have useful tools in my kit moving forward like the 4 DS,  reframing situations, planning, and many others .This is a very worthwhile project and I believe it has already made a difference to how I manage my illness and will continue to help me moving forwards and I'd like to say a huge thank you especially to Marie who is just wonderful.

Introductions

Team work

Seeing the whole me

Being listened to

Explanations

Daily living support

Being given time