What is the Living Well Programme?
Living Well is a free group self-management programme. Self-management is what a person does every day to manage their long-term health condition. This may include making choices to improve your health such as becoming more active, eating more healthily and stopping smoking. It may also include more complex tasks such as taking medication, monitoring your symptoms, coping with the emotional aspects of the condition and communicating with healthcare professionals.
Living with a long-term health condition can be challenging, especially during COVID-19. The Living Well programme supports you to develop the skills which will help you to live well with a long-term health condition. The Living Well programme has proven to be effective in helping people to manage their health conditions better.
Living Well has been provided in Ireland for many years under a variety of names including: ‘Quality of Life’ (Donegal), ‘Self Care to Wellness’ (Mayo & Roscommon), ‘Better Health Better Living’ (Beaumont Hospital) and Living Well with Arthritis (Arthritis Ireland) to name a few.
Living Well Programme
- Living Well is a free group programme which runs online for 6 weeks. There is one workshop each week which lasts 2.5 hours.
- Two trained leaders run the workshops each week. At least one of the leaders lives with a long-term health condition.
- People taking part in the workshops may have the same health condition as you. Others will have different health conditions. There will be up to 12 people taking part in the group.
- The workshops are delivered in a relaxed and friendly way so that all participants can learn from each other. You can also share experiences of living with your condition.
- Each person who takes part gets a book about self-management.
Who this programme is for
Living Well is for adults 18 years and over.
It is suitable for you if you are:
- living with one or more long-term health conditions
- caring for someone with a long-term health condition
Living Well is not suitable for people with significant memory or learning difficulties.
What is covered each week
A key part of Living Well is setting goals that you want to achieve. Each week you learn how to reach these goals by making an action plan. You also get support from the group to problem solve.
In addition, the following are covered over the 6 weeks:
Week 1
- Using your mind to manage symptoms
- Fatigue and getting a good night’s sleep
- Introduction to action plans
Week 2
- Dealing with difficult emotions
- Physical activity, exercise, preventing falls
Week 3
- Decision making
- Pain management
- Healthy eating
Week 4
- Breathing techniques
- Reading food labels
- Communicating skills
Week 5
- Medication management
- Positive thinking, dealing with low mood and feelings of depression
Week 6
- Making informed treatment decisions
- Planning for the future
Upcoming Living Well Programmes 2023
If you are interested in taking part in this programme or would like more information, please contact your local Living Well Team. They will make contact with you and let you know about the next available programme.
If your county is not listed please contact the team closest to you.
CHO 1
Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan
Date: Friday 10th February to Friday 24th March (excluding St Patrick's day)
Time: 2pm to 4.30pm
Location: Ballyshannon, Co Donegal
Date: Thursday 23th February to Thursday 6th April
Time: 2pm to 4.30pm
Location: Online
Date: Thursday 30th March to Thursday 11th May
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Wednesday 26th April to Wednesday 7th June
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Contact: Helen O'Driscoll
Phone: 087 3964 307
Email: helenodriscollqol@outlook.ie
CHO 2
Mayo, Galway, Roscommon
Date: Monday 20th February to Monday 27th March
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Thursday 9th March to Thursday 13th April
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Achill, Co Mayo
Date: Wednesday 26th April to Wednesday 31st May
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Galway City
Contact: Fiona Cunnane
Phone: 087 7185615
Email: fcunnane@southmayo.com
CHO 3
Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary
Date: Tuesday 7th March to Tuesday 11th April
Time: 10am to 12.30pm
Location: Nenagh, Co Tipperary
Date: Tuesday 7th March to Tuesday 11th April
Time: 2pm to 4.30pm
Location: Online
Date: Wednesday 8th March to Wednesday 12th April
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Thurles, Co Tipperary
Date: Thursday 9th March to Wednesday 13th April
Time: 11am to 1.30pm
Location: Kilkee Library, Co Clare
Contact: Philip Hennessy
Phone: 087 1799396
Email: philip.hennessy2@hse.ie
Contact: Liz Cox
Phone: 087 1799392
Email: liz.cox@hse.ie
CHO 4
Cork, Kerry
There are currently no programmes scheduled.
Please contact the team in another area if you wish to attend.
Please note the Location as Programmes can be Online or In-Person.
Contact: Maeve Carmody
Email:Maeveh.carmody@hse.ie
CHO 5
Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, South Tipperary
Date: Wednesday 22nd February to Wednesday 29th March
Time: 2pm to 4.30pm
Location: Online
Date: Thursday 23rd February to Thursday 30th March
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: In Person - Courtown, Co Wexford (FULL)
Date: Tuesday 28th February to Tuesday 4th April
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: In Person - Sacred Heart Family Resource Centre, Waterford City
Contact: Sheena Mullally
Phone: 056 7784 944 or 056 7784 945
Email: LivingWellSE@hse.ie
CHO 6
Dublin South East, Dun Laoghaire, Wicklow
Contact: Elish Carr
Phone: 087 4053 880
Email: LivingWellCHEast@hse.ie
Date: Monday February 13th to Monday March 27th
Time: 2pm to 4.30pm
Location: Online
CHO 7
Dublin South, Kildare & West Wicklow Community Healthcare
There are currently no programmes scheduled.
Please contact the team in another area if you wish to attend.
Please note the Location as Programmes can be Online or In-Person.
Contact: Mary-Rose Cunningham
Phone: 087 4320202
Email: maryrose.cunningham@hse.ie
CHO 8
Laois, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath, Louth and Meath
Date: Tuesday 21st March to Tuesday 2nd May
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Wednesday 22th March to Wednesday 3rd May
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Thursday 23rdMarch to Thursday 4th May
Time: 10.30 to 1pm
Location: Online
Contact: Aine McNamee
Phone: 087 114 0371
Email: Aine.Mcnamee@hse.ie
CHO 9
Dublin North City and County
Date: 28th March to Tuesday 2nd May
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: In person
Contact: Leah Harrington
Phone: 087 365 4392
Email: leah.harrington@hse.ie
Feedback on the programme
People who have done the programme say that they feel more confident and in control of their health. They also report that their mood has improved and they have better sleep.
"I met wonderful people with other illnesses and this made me feel ‘not alone’ which helped me emotionally.”
“It made me more aware of my habits and gave me the tools to make positive changes”
“My confidence has increased and I feel I am now able to manage my condition better”
Promotional Material
Living Well booklet Interactive (PDF, size 1.4MB, 2 pages)
Please contact your local coordinator for printed supplies of any promotional material.
Living Well is a Self–Management Resource Centre (SMRC) Evidence-Based Self-Management Program originally developed at Stanford University.
This project has received funding from the Government of Ireland’s Slaintecare Integration Fund 2019 under grant agreements 38, 78, 185, 219, 413, 418.
