Wellbeing service hosting seminars for officers

10 February 2021

Members are being encouraged to look after their mental health with the help of Oscar Kilo’s new webinars.

Derbyshire Police Federation chair Tony Wetton says the online events, organised by the National Police Wellbeing Service, aim to support officers’ welfare through the pandemic.

“Oscar Kilo is providing emotional and wellbeing support for officers and staff in the shape of this series of online sessions,” Tony said, “It is important that, given the challenges we face in policing the pandemic and enforcing the lockdowns, that we look after our wellbeing.

“These sessions are a way that we can do that with their focus on resilience and self-care, and I would encourage members, where possible, to take advantage of them.”

Oscar Kilo has teamed up with BACP-accredited psychotherapist Alexis Powell-Howard, of Grimsby-based Fortis Therapy and Training, for the new resilience webinars.

The first called Duty of Self Care was held on Tuesday (9 February) and looked at serving the public, the impact of the job on your mental health and how to look after yourself and avoid burn-out.

The second - The Masks We Wear – takes place on 15 March at 11am and looks at how we present ourselves and respond to others.

Members can access a series of coronavirus-themed resilience sessions, funded by the National Police Wellbeing Service and run by Bailey and French.

Sessions include home schooling today (February 10), vaccinations (February 11), returning to normal (19 February), lockdown (23 February) and staying connected with others (25 February).

Find out more details and sign up.

Oscar Kilo has also teamed up with sleep scientist Dr Sophie Bostock to produce ‘Better Sleep’ webinars.

The first four covered banishing the winter blues, sleep strategies for shift workers, solving stubborn sleep problems, and nightmares, snoring, sleep-walking and other challenges.

The next session – Sleepless Parents’ Survival Guide – takes place on Thursday 4 March at 11am. You can sign up for the webinar now.

Find out more about all the webinars and sessions in the special February edition of the Oscar Kilo newsletter.