Wellness Services will address key areas such as insomnia, mindful drinking, and talking therapy, until at least the end of this year
Having recently completed the dispersal of around 2000 one-off grants of £250 to hospitality workers impacted by Covid-19, the Drinks Trust, with the help of its many financial supporters, moves now to a phase of activity designed to support mental well-being and general ‘wellness’. While financial support will continue to be given to those most in need, the Trust has announced an increase in wellness services that will continue to at least the end of the year, and possibly beyond.
The new services include:
Guidance – Resident wellness and leadership coach, Kat Hounsell (Founding Director, Everyday People) will be delivering tips and tricks to care for your holistic health. Kat is a consultant and well-being specialist having previously worked within the drinks industry. With industry expertise and insight, she will apply her guidance to a community she has been part of for many years. Additionally, new online and downloadable content and guidelines will be made available for community members to learn more about the ways in which to approach their wellbeing concerns.
Talking Therapies – The Drinks Trust will make an initial investment of £80,000 to provide online video therapy services, provided by Dr Julian, an online and app-based therapy service. The service’s purpose is to put accessible mental healthcare into the hands of everybody in the drinks industry. The Dr Julian services are commissioned by NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies to provide mental health support on the NHS. They also work with corporate companies and organisations, such as The Drinks Trust, to provide mental health support for their communities. Dr Julian has brought together a range of highly experienced therapists/psychologists, all with Master’s Degree level training or above, who offer psychological therapy, through on-line video sessions and instantaneous text, that you can have on your phone, tablet or computer whenever and wherever you want. The service provides a secure and caring environment where they listen and treat you as the individual that you are, which in turn allows you to focus fully on your health.
Sleep & Insomnia Treatment – Although originally conceived as a Drinks Trust service for those working late shift patterns and those struggling with work related stress, there is now an emerging need from the wider drinks industry as a result of work uncertainty and decreased physical energy expenditure. The Drinks Trust will be inviting 300 individuals to undertake a week-long sleep and insomnia assessment, with 150 then qualifying for a month-long treatment programme. This service is delivered through app-based technologies and assessment tools, together with a live consultancy from trained sleep and insomnia specialist. The service is delivered by Sleepstation, the leading UK provider of sleep and insomnia treatment to the NHS.
Mindful Drinking Programme – In June, The Drinks Trust will launch its first mindful drinking initiative. Partnering with Club Soda, the Mindful Drinking Movement, who have helped thousands of people to change their approach to alcohol consumption, The Drinks Trust is ambitious to help its community to lead a healthy and productive career in the drinks industry. The mindful drinking course will be open to anyone working in or furloughed from the industry who wants to change their drinking by cutting down, stopping for a bit or quitting, for an initial period of three months from June 2020.
Helpline – The Drinks Trust helpline was set up in 2017 and remains a core service to the drinks industry. The Drinks Trust will be looking to help more people with increasing calls to our call handlers and where necessary, refer them to therapists for counselling. This will also enable more people to seek the vital mental health support they may otherwise not be able to access owing to the lack of availability on the NHS and the prohibitive cost of private care.
Drinks Trust CEO, Ross Carter says of the expansion: “Thanks to industry donor businesses such as London Essence and Virgin Wines and to all of our Business Partners, we are delighted to be able to offer our community an increased range of support services at a difficult time. We are very grateful for their support and hope that this is just the beginning of a broader wellness services offering. We would ask any business in the industry who is able to donate to The Drinks Trust to consider doing so, as our services are needed now more than ever.”
You can learn more about and access support offered by the Drinks Trust on its website.