Suzanne Tarrant - Part 2

Season 3 Episode 15

It's Part 2 of my conversation with Suzanne Tarrant who is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Head of Staff Psychological Wellbeing at the Hywel Dda University Health Board.

We focus on the green health agenda and begin by talking about the culture of taking breaks in the NHS. SPOILER ALERT: breaks are not necessarily seen as a typical part of a day in many NHS roles. 

Suzanne has always valued her connection with nature and describes herself as someone who always retreats to the sea when in need of solace.

In her role in Hywel Dda, Suzanne has secured approval from the Executive Board to develop a strategic framework for green health that is truly supportive of health and well-being. They have also established a green health network as well as a green health group at one of their district hospitals, where staff from across the site are developing a courtyard garden with support from community groups.

We also talk about Suzanne's growing involvement with Reconnect in Nature where they are developing a long weekend nature packages - in the first instance, for Doctors. The aim is to provide the opportunity to start to recharge and recover whilst also developing perspectives and tools that can be taken back into the workplace and be woven in to their working lives.

To finish - there is a second takeaway from Suzanne about how we can build our relationship with nature in our own unique way as well as making it a reciprocal connection.

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Show Notes

Reconnect in Nature - CIC

Website
Twitter 
Instagram
You Tube 

Suzi Tarrant

Website
Twitter
Instagram 

Benefits of nature on wellbeing:

A literature review of the wellbeing benefits from natural environments rich in wildlife from The
Wildlife Trusts:

Nature and recovery:
Roger S Ulrich study: View Through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery
in Science 224(4647):420-1 · May 1984

The benefits of microbreaks:

Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 42, June 2015, Pages 182-189

40-second green roof views sustain attention: The role of micro-breaks in attention restoration

Kate E Lee, Kathryn J H Williams, Leisa D Sargent, Nicholas S G Williams, Katherine A Johnson.

Recommended book:
“The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative”
By Florence Williams, WW Norton, 2017

And Suzanne's running companion, Bob, as well as some spectacular photos from her trail runs.

Reviews for Grief at Work

Hi all - this was a personal episode which has received a tremendous response - thanks to everyone who has taken the time to listen, share and feedback. A selection of your feedback is presented below. 

If you, haven't heard the episode you can listen via this link. I share my experience on what has helped me in my grief - it includes a metaphor, a model and a poem.

Over on LinkedIn - Ben WIlliams - who is founder of Sten10 - experts in people assessment & also the Chair of The Association for Business Psychology

And on twitter there was a fabulous response - I'm so delighted that people found it to be useful...

And a review in Finnish from Greta - which (according to google) says 

"Sadness is not a disease and it is not weakness to feel sadness in the workplace. This episode is on the grief process and how to approach and view it. Openness to all feelings is a good thing - thanks Ross - this episode provides us with a lot to think about in the workplace."

Louise - also known as - Act Auntie - also shared a great article from the LA Times about "How not to say the wrong thing"

And over on Instagram - there was some great feedback too!

Thanks again to everyone. I'll finish with a link to The Loss Foundation - who do extraordinary work supporting people who've lost a loved one to cancer.

Thanks for reading and listening.

Ross @ People Soup

Suzanne Tarrant - Part 1

Season 3 Episode 14

It's the first part of my conversation with Suzanne Tarrant. Suzanne is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Head of Staff Psychological Wellbeing Service for  Hywel Dda University Health Board in Wales. 

Hear about Suzanne's background and career as well as the establishment of the Staff Psychological Wellbeing Service. Suzanne explains how they've incorporated ACT and the impact of the training. I love Suzanne's interest in what works and what can truly make a difference in the long term. 

Suzanne also shares some fascinating aspects of their approach to the training, including the delivery model, how they encourage attendance and refresh the skills.

We finish part one with a brilliant takeaway on how to take a biophilic approach to your breaks at work - even if they're micro-breaks.

The wonderful photo of Suzanne was taken at a recent Reconnect in Nature event in the woods where she was leading a nature connection session.  The photo was taken by Mike Erskine (one of the founding directors of Reconnect in Nature and a filmmaker).

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Show Notes

You can connect with Suzanne on Twitter and Instagram.

Suzanne's website is here.

You'll hear all about Suzanne's interest in the green health agenda in our next episode. In the meantime - here's a link to Reconnect in Nature.

The benefits of microbreaks:

Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 42, June 2015, Pages 182-189

40-second green roof views sustain attention: The role of micro-breaks in attention restoration

Kate E Lee, Kathryn J H Williams, Leisa D Sargent, Nicholas S G Williams, Katherine A Johnson.

And - Suzanne's running companion - the lovely Bob.

Slow Radio

Season 3 Episode 13

This is a bonus episode. Last week I anticipated the train journey from Newcastle to Hexham. This week you can join us on the actual journey. It's the perfect antidote to the modern, busy world - you'll hear the train and snippets of conversation from me and Paul - with no particular aim in mind. Our first attempt at slow radio.

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Twitter https://twitter.com/PeopleSoupPod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/people.soup/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/peoplesouppod/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-mcintosh-261a2a22/

Show notes

There's more about the River Tyne here.

The Indian Restaurant which grabbed Paul's attention at Corbridge Station is called The Valley - details here.

And this is the painting I mentioned of the Blaydon Races.

Flaxintosh Road Trip Part 2

Season 3 Episode 12

Welcome to the second part of our recording on the road. In this episode you'll hear me and my ACT pal, Dr Paul Flaxman, chatting in the lobby of Motel One in Newcastle.

We reveal our big news for 2020 - an international research collaboration and opportunity for us to flex and adapt our protocol for the workplace. 

I work with Paul at City, University of London where we have redeveloped and refined a training protocol for Psychological Well-being in the Workplace. The training has a strong evidence base and we've spent time over the last year delivering Training for Trainers, to enable the protocol to be shared more widely and reach more people. Next year we go international.

We finish with an anticipation of our train journey from Newcastle to Hexham - where we were going to be working with some psychologists from across the NHS in the region. That particular train line has some personal meaning for me as it goes through my first workplace, my home village, passed my schools and my birthplace. 

We also recorded the actual train journey and I'm going to make that into a separate bonus episode - our first attempt at slow radio.

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Show notes

We stayed at the excellent Motel One in Newcastle.

The train line takes in many locations near to Hadrian's Wall - you can find more details here

Flaxintosh Road Trip Part 1

Season 3 Episode 11

Welcome one and all. It's another first for People Soup - a recording on the road. In this episode you'll hear me and my ACT pal - Dr Paul Flaxman, on the way to a meeting with some NHS legends up in Northumberland. We chat on a train and a hotel lobby in Newcastle. 

I work with Paul at City, University of London where we have redeveloped and refined a training protocol for Psychological Well-being in the Workplace. The training has a strong evidence base and we've spent time over the last year delivering Training for Trainers, to enable the protocol to be shared more widely and reach more people. 

It's like a Flaxintosh performance review. We cover some of the gigs we've done this year, how the ACT in the Workplace training protocol has evolved and any key moments that have stuck in our minds. 

In part 2 we'll share some big news for 2020 and also reflect on the train journey from Newcastle to Hexham, which reflects some key parts of my life. We also pass through Blaydon - hence the artwork for this episode.

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Show Notes 

We're big fans of Motel One - having stayed there in Glasgow and Newcastle - thoroughly recommended!

Here's the painting of the Blaydon Races by William C Irving. It's in the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. You'll hear me singing an extract in Part 2.

Grief at Work

Season 3 Episode 10

In this episode I share my personal experience of grief and what I've found useful over the last six months with a particular focus on the workplace. This includes a metaphor, a model and a poem. 

I also share some information and statistics from The Loss Foundation - who are the only UK charity dedicated solely to providing bereavement support following the loss of a loved one to cancer.

  

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Show Notes

That word Fiona sent me was - MERAKI - This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe what happens when you leave a piece of yourself (your soul, creativity, or love) in your work. When you love doing something, anything, so much that you put something of yourself into it.

Freaking the F Out Podcast - here's a link to the Episode on Grief with Cariad Lloyd and Dr Erin Hope Thompson.


The Loss Foundation - is the only UK charity dedicated solely to providing bereavement support following the loss of a loved one to cancer, whether that be spouses, family members, friends or colleagues.

They provide a variety of support events to help people at any point during their loss, and create the opportunity for them to meet others who have experienced something similar. They also educate and empower others to support those who are grieving via their workshops and training.

Ball in a Box

Research Paper - dual process model

Epitaph - Merrit Malloy

When I die
Give what's left of me away
To children
And old men that wait to die.
And if you need to cry,
Cry for your brother
Walking the street beside you.
And when you need me,
Put your arms
Around anyone
And give them
What you need to give to me.

I want to leave you something,
Something better
Than words
Or sounds.

Look for me
In the people I've known
Or loved,
And if you cannot give me away,
At least let me live on your eyes
And not on your mind.

You can love me most
By letting
Hands touch hands,
By letting
Bodies touch bodies,
And by letting go
Of children
That need to be free.

Love doesn't die,
People do.
So, when all that's left of me
Is love,
Give me away.