BEAM – Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health

Led by Nancy Khan-Horton, a trained counsellor with extensive experience supporting Carers through her years at Headway Birmingham and Solihull, this offer provides a safe and understanding space to talk, reflect and heal.

Nancy has worked closely with Forward Carers to ensure our Carer Assessments and wellbeing support meet the highest professional and ethical standards. Her compassionate, trauma-informed approach helps Carers feel seen, heard, and supported.

Through the BEAM Counselling Programme, Carers can access free one-to-one counselling sessions as well as a six-part workshop series designed to strengthen emotional awareness, resilience, and balance.

What’s Included:

• Confidential one-to-one counselling sessions tailored to your needs and caring role
• Access to the “Tools for Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health” – six themed workshops that help Carers reflect, recharge and develop practical coping tools

Workshop Series Overview

Session 1 – Building Better Relationships
Managing communication and boundaries in caring relationships.

Session 2 – Mindfulness
Practical mindfulness tools to manage stress and ease body tension.

Session 3 – Values & Goals
Understanding what truly matters and aligning actions with personal values to support wellbeing.

Session 4 – Decision Making
Developing clarity and confidence when making choices in caring and life.

Session 5 – Grief and Loss
Exploring the emotional impact of change and loss within the caring journey.

Session 6 – Building Resilience
Recognising inner strength, connection and the importance of self-care for long-term balance.

Frequency & Commitment:

• One-to-one sessions arranged flexibly around your caring role
• Group wellbeing workshops delivered monthly over six months
• Choose to attend individual workshops or complete the full series

Where:

• In-person at community venues across Birmingham
• Online via Teams / Zoom for accessible participation

Benefits:
✔ Professional, confidential support from a counsellor experienced in Carer wellbeing
✔ Time to focus on you in a safe, understanding space
✔ Tools for managing stress, grief, and relationships
✔ Connect with others on similar journeys through group reflection
✔ Flexible access around caring responsibilities

Barefoot BEAM is a six-week therapeutic yoga journey designed especially for Carers who need time to pause, breathe, and rebuild inner balance. Led by Kam Bola, a Family Carer herself, sessions combine yoga, movement, massage therapy, mindfulness, and creativity to restore both body and mind.

Each weekly class blends gentle movement with reflective activities such as journaling, guided meditation, and connecting with nature. Carers are supported to strengthen resilience, gain new perspectives, and rediscover clarity and calm.

What’s Included:

• Yoga, movement and massage therapy for stress release
• Mindfulness and meditation to calm the nervous system and give clarity
• Therapeutic activities using sound, creativity, and nature for relaxation and emotional release
• Journalling and group discussion for insight, reflection, and shared understanding

Programme Overview

Week 1 – Building Better Relationships: Caring with Connection
Exploring emotional awareness and boundaries – how to care for others while staying connected to ourselves.

Week 2 – Mindfulness: Easing the Body & Heart
Mindful yoga, breathing and body-scanning to reduce tension and overwhelm; noticing and naming emotions as day-to-day wellbeing tools.

Week 3 – Values and Goals: Living with Intention
Understanding what truly matters and how aligning with our values supports resilience, wellbeing, and purposeful caring.

Week 4 – Values-Based Decision Making for Carers
When you stand at a crossroads – asking “What values am I honouring?” to guide confident, compassionate decisions.

Week 5 – Navigating Grief & Loss through Creativity and Nature
“Compassion, Release and Renewal” – gentle creative activity, such as nature-inspired craft, to explore loss and renewal.

Week 6 – Resilience & Connection: Strength in Softness
Closing reflections: finding support in connection and strength in softness – “I am supported. I am resilient.”

Frequency & Commitment:

• 6 weekly sessions, 1½ hours each
• Optional continuation through drop-in mindfulness or creative sessions
• Suitable for all abilities – no previous yoga experience needed

Where:
Barefoot Wellbeing Studio, Harborne, plus selected community venues across Birmingham

Benefits:
✔ Led by an experienced Family Carer who understands your challenges
✔ Gentle movement and mindfulness to reduce stress and improve sleep
✔ Safe, nurturing environment for reflection and healing
✔ Connect with other Carers through shared experience
✔ Leave each week calmer, clearer, and more resilient

Marion Wachet & Alex Broadbent – Somatic and Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners from RESET Psychology will lead this programme.

Through a structured 10-week therapeutic wellbeing journey, Carers will understand how to manage their mind and body connection.

The RESET Carers Programme is a unique, research-informed course combining psychology, physical wellbeing and self-reflection to help Carers recover from stress, grief and exhaustion.

Developed by the RESET Psychology and Somaia Health CIC, this approach blends gentle movement, breathwork, and mindfulness with practical psychological tools to help you restore emotional balance, build resilience, and maintain long-term wellbeing.

The programme is built around the RESET Model, which stands for:

• R – Reprocessing Emotions & Cognitions through Somatic Therapy
• E – Environment: Understanding how surroundings affect mood, sleep and energy
• S – Somatic Awareness: Restoring harmony between body and mind
• E – Emotions: Exploring how feelings shape physical health
• T – Therapy & Transformation: Turning awareness into action and lasting wellbeing

This holistic approach helps Carers feel more grounded, regain control over stress responses, and experience the connection between body, mind, and environment.

Programme Structure and Weekly Breakdown

Week 1 – Introduction: Body, Mind and Environment Connection
Discover the deep link between your body, mind and environment. Set personal wellbeing goals and create your vision for positive change.

Week 2 – The RESET Model & The RESET Log
Learn how trauma and stress affect your physical and emotional health. Begin your personal RESET Log to track thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Week 3 – The Power of Your Thoughts: Mindset & the “Con Artist”
Identify unhelpful thinking patterns and discover how your thoughts influence stress and resilience. Build tools to challenge self-criticism and negativity.

Week 4 – Your Environment: Indoors and Outdoors
Explore how your physical space and natural surroundings affect your wellbeing. Learn how to create calmer, healing environments at home and outdoors.

Week 5 – Relationships & Communication
Strengthen communication, connection and boundaries with the people you care for and those around you.

Week 6 – The Gut–Brain Connection & “The Gremlins”
Understand how nutrition, digestion, and emotional health are linked. Learn about the gut–brain axis and how to support your body’s natural balance.

Week 7 – Rest & Routine
Focus on developing sustainable sleep and rest habits. Learn techniques for relaxation, recovery and restoring natural rhythms.

Week 8 – “Just Like When…”
Reflect on past experiences that shaped your caring journey and begin transforming how you respond to stress and emotional triggers.

Week 9 – Release Your Power, Release Your Emotions
Experience somatic techniques, mindful movement and breathwork to let go of tension, process emotions and reconnect with your body’s strength.

Week 10 – The Four Steps to RESET
Bring everything together into a personal wellbeing plan. Learn four practical steps to maintain balance, resilience and self-care in everyday life.

Frequency & Commitment:

• 10-week course, with weekly 2-hour sessions
• Delivered as a hybrid model – attend in person or online
• Three programmes delivered throughout the year, giving flexibility for new participants

Where:
Community venues across Birmingham

Benefits:
✔ Deep understanding of stress, trauma and emotional regulation
✔ Practical tools to restore balance and manage daily challenges
✔ Guided breathwork, mindfulness and gentle movement
✔ Hybrid access for convenience and inclusion
✔ Connect with other Carers in a safe, supportive environment

Delivered by:
RESET Psychology, wellbeing specialists combining psychology, somatic therapy and lifestyle interventions to promote lifelong health.

Charlotte Marler from Unravelled Mind Studio will support Carers’ emotional wellbeing and resilience through creativity, reflection, and shared expression.

Led by Unravelled Mind Studio, this year-long creative wellbeing journey gives Carers regular, restorative time to relax, reflect and connect through art.

The programme combines therapeutic art activities with guided reflection and peer sharing, helping Carers to process emotions, reduce stress, and strengthen confidence through creative self-expression.

All sessions are beginner-friendly, inclusive, and designed for relaxation and exploration — not artistic perfection. Every participant is provided with all materials and gentle guidance throughout.

Programme Structure

Duration: 12 months
Frequency: One 2-hour session per month
Commitment: Attend individual workshops or join for the full year
Group size: Up to 12 Carers per session

Monthly Session Themes

Session 1 – Mindful Colouring & Pattern Drawing
Gentle, structured exercises to quieten the mind, ease anxiety, and encourage focus through repetitive pattern work and mindful colouring.

Session 2 – Neurographic Art
A reflective drawing technique using abstract shapes and flowing lines to explore and release emotions, build awareness, and reframe challenges.

Session 3 – Reflective Collaging & Creative Journaling
Using colour, imagery and words to reflect on emotions, identity, and the Carer journey — a tool to revisit and develop at home.

Session 4 – Group Collaborative Artwork
Working together to create a shared piece that celebrates community, connection and collective creativity.

Session 5 – Reflective Feedback & Sharing
Space for Carers to share experiences, insights and reflections (if comfortable), building peer support and mutual understanding.

Sessions 6–12 – Rotating Creative Practice
Monthly workshops combining the above techniques with new seasonal or themed creative projects — including mixed media, printmaking, and mindful mark-making — ensuring variety and sustained engagement.

What’s Included

• All art materials provided
• Light refreshments
• A relaxed, welcoming studio environment
• No previous art experience required

Outcomes:
✔ Improved mental health and reduced stress
✔ Greater emotional resilience and confidence
✔ Reduced isolation through shared experiences
✔ Practical creative tools to continue at home

Where:
Accessible community venues across Birmingham including The Old Print Works, Moseley Road, Balsall Heath (B12 9AH)

Delivered by:
Unravelled Mind Studio, a creative wellbeing organisation combining art and mental health practice to empower Carers through expression and connection.

Carers will benefit from emotional wellbeing, self-care and rest through professional counselling and group workshops delivered through Ashiana Community Project.

What’s Included:
Free, confidential counselling sessions and monthly wellbeing workshops to help Carers manage stress, anxiety, and poor sleep.

Delivered by a BACP-accredited counsellor, sessions are personalised, inclusive, and available in multiple languages.

Programme Structure:

• Up to 6 private counselling sessions per Carer
• Monthly group workshops on sleep, nutrition, resilience and creative self-care
• Optional storytelling therapy using narrative cards to reflect on emotions and strengths

Frequency & Commitment:

• Flexible 1-to-1 appointments (weekly or fortnightly)
• Group workshops held monthly

Where:
70% face-to-face at Ashiana’s Sparkbrook Centre & partner venues
30% online or by phone for Carers unable to attend

Benefits:
✔ Dedicated emotional support
✔ Culturally sensitive and multilingual approach
✔ Improved sleep, rest and resilience
✔ Relaxed, trusted environment

Led by Dementia Carers Count, Emotional Support & Mindfulness Groups will help Dementia Carers manage stress and improve sleep through mindfulness and peer support.

What’s Included:
Six-week online emotional support courses blending group reflection and guided mindfulness techniques. Facilitated by an experienced counsellor, sessions help Carers process emotions such as guilt, loss, and frustration, and reconnect with inner calm.

Programme Structure:

• Six × 1.5-hour sessions per course
• Themed topics: identity, grief, guilt, emotional regulation
• Delivered online with post-session resources

Frequency & Commitment:

• Three courses per year
• Sessions every two weeks (evenings available)

Where: Online via Zoom or telephone

Benefits:
✔ Accessible from home
✔ Reduced stress, improved rest
✔ Shared experience with other Carers
✔ Evidence-based mindfulness approach

YMCA Sutton Coldfield will help Young Carers aged 11–16 explore identity, manage emotions, and build resilience through immersive VR learning.

What’s Included:
An eight-week school-based programme combining Virtual Reality storytelling with group discussions, reflection and fun activities. Facilitated by trained Youth Workers, sessions explore mental health, peer pressure and confidence.

Programme Structure:

• Eight weekly 1-hour sessions
• Week 1: immersive VR experience
• Weeks 2–7: guided wellbeing sessions
• Week 8: celebration and reflection

Frequency & Commitment:

• Delivered during school hours
• Nine cohorts each year across Birmingham schools

Where: Sutton Coldfield, Great Barr, Castle Vale & Handsworth

Benefits:
✔ Build confidence and resilience
✔ Learn coping skills in a safe setting
✔ Fun, innovative use of technology