entre for
linical
nterventions
•Psychotherapy•Research•Training
Maintaining Your Gains and
Staying Well
Congratulations on making it to the end of this information package! We’re glad you stayed on
with us. If you haven’t read all the modules, it might be good to go back to the ones you missed.
However, the most important thing for you now is to keep practising some of the strategies you
might have learned through reading the modules in this info-pack. This means continuing to apply
all of the useful skills and insights about yourself you might have gained. If you continue practising
the concepts and skills you have learned, they will become like habits that have been integrated
into your lifestyle.
There are also some important things you will need to do in order to make the most of what you have learned to
stay well or gain that extra improvement. The easiest way to summarise this is by looking at the “Healthy Me”
worksheet on the next page. It shows the main areas of your life that you should give some attention to in order
for you to continue maintaining your gains.
You will notice that on the “Healthy Me” Worksheet, each heading has spaces left blank for you to write in what
you will need to attend to. For example, under Self-Care you might write: “ I will shop every week and purchase
fruit and vegetables, and avoid eating take-out. Under Social Activities you might write: “I will visit friends at least
once each week.” You may want to update this worksheet on a regular basis when you need to extend your goals
or modify them. We really encourage you to do this, as it will enable you to keep track of things.
There are some important things to remember about monitoring and managing yourself.
1. Expect Slip-Ups and Down Days
Slip-ups in progress can happen at any time and are to be expected. Try not to fall into the trap of believing that
you are ‘back to square one’ as this will only make you feel worse. Use your skills of challenging your thinking to
help when this situation occurs. It might be useful to remind yourself that most people have ‘down days’ or days
where life’s hassles are harder to deal with – its part of being human! Also, you can use setbacks as a way of
learning something new about yourself to help avoid similar problems in the future.
2. Social Support
It is wise to find someone with whom you can sit down and have a good talk. This doesn’t
mean a therapy session where you pour out your heart but rather just a chance to talk
through what’s going on in your life, what your goals are, and generally just to ventilate with someone you trust.
Often, problems seem bigger than they really are when a person tries to deal with them on their own. Hearing
yourself talk through something can help to put it into perspective. Socialising is also fun and will help you to keep
on track with scheduling of pleasant events.
Remember – progress may be a bumpy road at times but it will be a rewarding journey on the whole!
