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 in person or 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
Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo
Date: Tuesday 26 September to Tuesday 31 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Sligo Northside Community Centre
Date: Monday 18 September to Monday 23 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Cavan Pastoral Centre
For information on upcoming programmes please contact:
Helen O'Driscoll
Phone: 087 396 4307
CHO 2
Mayo, Galway, Roscommon
Date: Tuesday 12 September to Tuesday 17 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Galway City
Date: Wednesday 13 September to Wednesday 18 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Friday 22 September to Friday 27 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Belmullet, Co Mayo
Date: Thursday 12 October to Thursday 16 November
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Ballaghadereen Family Resource Centre, Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon
Date: Tuesday 24 October to Tuesday 28 November
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Ballinasloe (TBC)
Date: Wednesday 25 October to Wednesday 29 November
Time: 7pm to 9.30pm
Location: Online
For information on upcoming programmes please contact:
Contact: Fiona Cunnane
Phone: 087 7185615
Email: fcunnane@southmayo.com
CHO 3
Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary
Date: Tuesday 12 September to Tuesday 17 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Newport Community Centre, Newport, Co Tipperary
Date: Thursday 14 September to Thursday 19 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Shannon FRC, Shannon, Co Clare
Date: Friday 15th September to Friday 20th October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Redemptorist Music School, Island Road, Limerick
Date: Friday 15th September to Friday 20th October
Time: 2.30pm to 5pm
Location: Redemptorist Music School, Island Road, Limerick
Date: Monday 18 September to Monday 23 October
Date: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Ennis PCC
Date: Tuesday 31st October to Tuesday 5th December
Date: 2pm to 4:30pm
Location: Limerick City
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
Time: Wednesday 30 August to Wednesday 4 October
Date: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: In Person - St Dympna's Hospital, Carlow
Time: Thursday 31 August to Thursday 5 October
Date: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: In Person - Nano Nagle Centre, Carrick On Suir, Tipperary
Time: Monday 4 September to Monday 16 October
Date: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Time: Tuesday 5 September to Tuesday 10 October
Date: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: In Person - Loughboy Parish Centre, Kilkenny
Time: Monday 23 October to Monday 11 December
Date: 2pm to 4.30pm
Location: Online
Contact: Living Well Office
Call: 056 778 4945
Email: livingwellse@hse.ie
CHO 6
Dublin South East, Dun Laoghaire, Wicklow
Date: Wednesday 13 September to Wednesday 25 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Tuesday 26 September to Tuesday 31 October
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: In Person Bray Primary Care Centre
Contact: Triona McNamee
Phone:087 405 3880
Email: LivingWellCHEast@hse.ie
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 10 October to Tuesday 14 November
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Navan
Date: Wednesday 11 October to Wednesday 22 November
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Thursday 12 October to Thursday 16 November
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Kells Family Resource Centre
Contact: Aine McNamee
Phone: 087 114 0371
Email: Aine.Mcnamee@hse.ie
CHO 9
Dublin North City and County
Date: Tuesday 19 September to Tuesday 7 November
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Location: Online
Date: Tuesday 19 September to Tuesday 7 November
Time: 7pm to 9.30pm
Location: Online
Date: Saturday 21 October to Saturday 2 December
Time: 10am to 12.30pm
Location: Online
Contact: Leah Harrington
Phone: 087 365 4392
Email: LivingWellDNCC@hse.ie
Podcast
To learn more about the Living Well Programme follow the link to this Podcast on our Health & Wellbeing You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd9TXot-PzA
Living Well Podcast Poster (PDF, size 481.7 KB, 1 page)
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.
HSE Health Matters Living Well Testimonial Winter 2022 (PDF, size 325 KB, 1 page)
"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.
