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About SAGE & THYME®
Background
The SAGE & THYME® Foundation Level workshop (S&T FL), and the equivalent SAGE & THYME Online workshop, teaches clinical and non-clinical staff at all levels, evidence-based communication skills to provide person-centred support to someone with emotional concerns using the SAGE & THYME structure.
The SAGE & THYME structure is suitable for talking to anyone: patients and carers, students, colleagues and children – inside and outside of health and social care.
The SAGE & THYME structure and workshop were developed by members of staff at University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (UHSM) (now Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust) and a patient in 2006, to teach the core skills of dealing with people in distress.
The training was originally developed to meet the level 1 skills requirement described in the 2004 NICE guidance on ‘Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer’, although the principles are generic and can be used with anyone in distress.
The level 1 guidance states that all health and social care staff should be able to:
- recognise psychological distress
- avoid causing psychological harm
- communicate honestly and compassionately
- know when they have reached the boundary of their competence.
The SAGE and THYME Foundation Level/Online workshop reminds staff how to listen and how to respond in a way which empowers the patient. It discourages staff from ‘fixing’ and demonstrates how to work with the patient’s own ideas first. The training is based on research findings on effective communication skills.
The 3 hour SAGE & THYME Foundation Level workshop, run by 3 facilitators, teaches up to 30 delegates how to use a structured approach to getting into and out of a conversation with someone who is upset or has concerns, whilst providing basic psychological support. The workshop uses a mix of small group work, lectures and rehearsals for the teaching.
The 2 hour 45 min SAGE & THYME Online workshop run by 2 facilitators, teaches up to 20 delegates how to use a structured approach to getting into and out of a conversation with someone who is upset or has concerns, whilst providing basic psychological support. The workshop uses a mix of small group work, lectures and films for the teaching.
The SAGE & THYME model can be taught to anyone at any level (e.g. healthcare assistants, nurses, allied health professionals, doctors, administrators, students, volunteers) in contact with distressed people (not just patients) and in any setting (e.g. hospital, patient’s home, nursing home, hospice, social care, universities).
The workshop is evidence based - click here for publications and other reports on the training.
Find out more about the SAGE & THYME model and the benefits
Find out more about running a SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop in your organisation