Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about Balanced People
In a nutshell, how does Balanced People work?
Balanced People is a subscription service whereby, for a monthly or annual fee, you get access to a range of videos, podcasts and CBT worksheets, to help you manage your mental wellbeing and be happier. We will send you weekly emails with a range of content and a reminder to take time for your mental wellbeing each week. There is also the “Ask Sam” section where people can post questions (anonymously, of course!) and Sam will answer the best one every week.
It will support you with any mental wellbeing concerns you have and help you to maintain positive mental wellbeing whilst having some fun on the way!
How often is new content posted?
New content is posted every month responding to the needs of the members.
What sort of topics do you cover?
Proactively Supporting Mental Wellbeing
- How to relax and why you should.
- Recognising your signs that you might be struggling.
- How mental health is linked to physical health – science stuff.
- Ensuring social media is a positive influence on your life.
- The three key factors that underpin most mental health issues.
Managing Anxiety & Depression
- Understanding anxiety.
- What are safety behaviours and why aren’t they helping my anxiety?
- Improving your discomfort tolerance.
- Is it depression or sadness?
- Recognising your fight/flight/freeze/fawn response.
Boosting Confidence & Self-esteem
- Boosting your self-esteem.
- Being your own best friend – managing self-criticism.
- Body confidence.
- Mental health when you’re neurodivergent.
- Being a confident public speaker.
Mindset Coaching
- Managing stress – why our mindset is key.
- Reframing failure.
- Positively managing criticism.
- Setting boundaries with toxic people.
- How we rewire our brains – science stuff.
Work Related Wellbeing Support
- Writing a wellness at work plan for you.
Identifying and prioritising positive working practices for your mental wellbeing.
How working in the care industry takes its’ toll on mental wellbeing.
- Dealing with angry people so it doesn’t affect your mental wellbeing.
- How to support a colleague who may be struggling.
What happens when I join?
You select the membership/subscription level you need, create an account (and pay if required using our secure payment system), and as soon as that is complete, you’ll have access to the resources your membership provides.
If you join as a paid subscriber, you’ll have access to all the Balanced People resources. We’ll also send you your weekly email reminding you to do something positive for your mental health this week, as well as other content to make you smile!
How do I cancel my subscription?
You can make a monthly or yearly commitment. It’s easy to manage your subscription through the “Your Account” area. You manage all of your account details with us, in one easy to get at place! Cancelling, upgrading, and signing up again is all at hand.
Join Balanced People Now!
Questions about CBT
What is CBT?
CBT is a combination of the Behaviourist and Cognitive psycho-dynamic approaches giving us Cognitive Behavioural Therapy!
The basic principles are that if we learn how to manage our negative thoughts and practise positive thoughts we can improve our mental wellbeing. CBT is a “talking” therapy – it’s NOT the psycho-dynamic approach of “…I will tell you what’s wrong with you…”; it’s based on working through processes to challenge thinking.
As we’ve already said, it’s not an instant fix; it has to be practised in order to become habit – for new pathways to develop fully in the brain. There is also personal responsibility involved – you have to want to change and be prepared to try new things.
It’s also important to develop a “feedback, not failure” mindset – not everything is going to work first time! If trying something new doesn’t work the first way, try it a different way the next time or try something else! Any mistakes we make we always reframe as ‘feedback’… and we have a lot of feedback to learn from!
How effective is CBT?
Many people feel that they need some form of support for their mental health but, for a variety of reasons, they don’t want to speak to a professional face to face. So they may look at self-help. There are a wide range of self-help sources for mental health from books, YouTube videos, and online programmes such as Balanced People. So is self-help as good as it is seeing someone one-to-one?
In 2017 the results of a meta-analysis were published comparing the two for a range of mental health issues including anxiety, PTSD, OCD and depression. A meta-analysis is where they review all the research available and collate all the outcomes. The researchers thought that therapists/counsellors would have the better results. However, they actually found no difference between the two.
There was no difference in completion rate, or outcomes. They do point out that the self-help resources did have some form of contact with a professional – either administrative contact or initial training to help with the self-help and it is proposed that this contact makes a difference over just buying a self-help book.
This is good news for anyone using Balanced People as that is what we provide – CBT self-help resources with guidance. There are still some situations where self-help CBT may not be right (check out our other blog “Why Self-Help CBT (like Balanced People) may not be for you” but as a first line of intervention and support, self-help CBT can be very successful.
Is CBT effective for self-help or do I need a therapist?
CBT self-help is a form of CBT that can absolutely be done on your own, without the aid of a therapist. It involves using self-help tools such as worksheets, videos and podcasts to help change negative thought and behaviour patterns. If you can’t afford traditional therapy, or you want to work on your cognitive skills at your own pace, then self-guided CBT is perfect for you.
It’s also great for individuals with social anxiety or those who don’t feel comfortable opening up to a stranger. By working on your own, you don’t have to worry about anyone else, and you can take control of your progress entirely.