Free Online Mental Wellbeing Course

Welcome! You have landed here at the LightHearts UK Mental Wellbeing Course and over the next 10 weeks we'll be providing free mental health resources & support by showing you how to keep on top of your stress, anxiety or depression.

This course was developed by: Katya Jezzard-Puyraud, a counsellor and mindfulness instructor, and Liz Axham, a National Health Service cognitive analytic therapist who has worked extensively with people suffering from severe anxiety and depression.

Over the years we’ve learned methods from around the world that have helped us, not only in our professional lives, but also in our darkest moments. So don't think this is going to be some dry old 'how-to' course with two perfect, shiny, calm people telling you what to do. We've been there. We've both got the oversized T-shirts. We've personally suffered from various problems such as addiction, depression, bereavement and the type of panic attacks that leave you on the floor unable to move.

So we've decided to pool our information and resources (with the help of some very generous people listed on our credits page) to produce this free 10-week online course. And the good news is that this course is absolutely and totally FREE.

For those of you who are feeling a bit worried about the commitment of 10 weeks, we have a mini version of the course - 10 Days for Mental Health - to give you an idea of the methods and techniques. Just click on the button below to see this easy-to-do free online course.

Take me to 10 Days for mental health

So let us introduce ourselves properly:

Liz Axham is a cognitive analytic therapist who previously worked as a senior community psychiatric nurse for over 20 years, with five of those years spent with the extremely busy mental health team in Hackney, East London. She has a specialist degree in community mental health nursing and now works in East Anglia helping patients with serious mental health issues as well as depression and anxiety.

Katya Jezzard-Puyraud is a qualified counsellor and mindfulness instructor who works with mental health charities and local community groups providing counselling for young people and adults and working with a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, abuse, domestic violence and bereavement.

So now you know a little bit about us, why not do your mental health a favour and have a go at Week 1? And if you have a friend or relative or colleague that you think might benefit from a course such as ours, be our guest and pass it along.

Week 1 Mental Wellbeing

(Just a little disclaimer here – this course is NOT a substitute for therapy, medication or treatment. If you’re currently receiving treatment or taking medication for your condition, keep going. If you start to feel better, go back to your doctor and discuss how you’re feeling with them before you do anything drastic. Good. Glad that’s clear.)