Mental Health

Mental Health

When battling Crohn’s or Colitis, there is often more emphasis on the physical effects of the conditions. Living with a life long illness can impact your mental health on a daily basis also – Patients with IBD are twice as likely to have mental health issues in comparison to the general population.

But the Catherine McEwan Foundation is here for you and we are proud to introduce our Mental Health Support Service.

What we can offer is psychological support services in the following areas

  • Mental health assessments
  • Talking therapies – CBT, Solution focused Therapy, anxiety, and anger management
  • Counselling
  • Relaxation/mindfulness

What will happen once I apply?

The services are planned initially to be one to one rather than group therapy

  • Initial phone/teams call following referral
  • If therapy, then appropriate it will typically consist of 6-8 sessions which will be booked based on capacity

What can we help with?

  • Identify and treat mental illness in patients through appropriate talking therapies
  • Help people through difficult times
  • Give people an outlet through which to rest their burdens
  • Help people relax and destress from the demands of their lives
  • Help people design a plan to face the challenges ahead
  • Give people the skills and tools to manage the stressors of their lives

What can’t we help with?

  • Confirmed mental health diagnosis
  • Ongoing mental health support from another service

Eligibility criteria

  • Mental Health difficulties related to IBD
  • No mental health support in place
  • 18 years and over only
  • Diagnosed with IBD
  • Be able to travel to Glasgow City centre as needed

Get started, request a callback

Meet Avril

RMN, Bsc, Dip, DISL, Hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner, Life coach Catherine McEwan Foundation Mental Health Support

For the past 22 years, Avril has been working within the NHS and helping many people of Forth Valley find a calmer and more structured self. As a practicing therapist, she helps to identify and treat mental illness in her patients, as well as help people through difficult times. As a dual life coach and therapist, she brings her passion for organisation and empathy to her work in giving people an outlet through which to rest their burdens.

Avril started her career in therapy in 1995 when she trained to become a mental health nurse, she successfully qualified in 1998 and continued to study she completed her health studies degree, CBT, mindfulness, transactional analysis, life coaching, hypnotherapy and NLP practitioner certificates. On completion of her NLP practitioner qualification she decides to start her own practice based in Alva and now brings her expertise to help support our IBD patients.

Avril’s goals are to help patients battling Crohn’s & Colitis relax and de-stress from the demands of their lives and condition. As well as active counselling and mindfulness, Avril guides each patient with personalised exercises based on research to calm the mind. Afterwards, she helps them design a plan to face the challenges ahead.

Avril is passionate about making a difference in the IBD community as she knows first hand of the nature of Crohn’s & Colitis through her son, George was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of 13.

The Catherine McEwan Foundation is proud to have Avril as part of our team.

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