Self Management roundup 2025

The Self Management Programme continued to drive the uptake of self management practices in community and health settings.

A self management awareness raising campaign ran from July until September, culminating in Self Management Week and highlighting what individuals need to lead in the management of their health.

Across the week there were approximately 330 attendees in total at all in-person and online events. Events were hosted by members of the Self Management Network Scotland, Self Management Fund projects and an IFIC webinar was held with international speakers, which had 117 registrations from 17 different countries. A hybrid somatic movement event with participants in the studio on Lewis brought together participants joining online from Lanarkshire and Tayside to Grampian and Shetland.
Evaluation from online surveys showed 90% of participants found events valuable and learned something new, one example being tips to lower cortisol levels. Comments included, “inspirational presentations” and “very relaxed pace to meet and chat with colleagues and share ideas and resources”. 86% of respondents said they will do something differently as result of the session, with comments including “reflection on my habits and how I can improve my wellbeing”. Individuals also cited new connections resulting from attendance at events.

The Self Management Awards ceremony was held at Greyfriars Kirk on 24 September 2025, with 27 finalists across seven award categories and almost 150 guests in total, plus a livestream on YouTube. The ‘Self Management in the Community’ award went to public vote with almost 1000 unique votes cast across the five shortlisted nominations. The winner, Talking is Mental CIC, is a grassroots Glasgow based organisation that combats social isolation and loneliness.

Quarterly networking sessions were held with the Self Management Network Scotland, with speakers including the Health and Wellness Hub and Beatroute Arts, and presentations recorded and released through ALLIANCE Live. Membership of the network grew to 1066, with 1306 people receiving our monthly bulletin.

The team continued to adapt the application process for the Self Management Fund to improve the experience for both applicants and external assessors. We were able to communicate these changes to applicants constructively, maintaining high applicant satisfaction despite fewer applicants progressing to panel decision. In addition, we adapted our evaluation support for small grants, delivering three sessions providing space for grantees to share challenges and solutions around evaluation and learn from each other.

There has been ongoing planning and delivery of CPD-accredited Self Management Reflective Practice (SMRP) training. Discussions continue with staff at University of West of Scotland regarding the incorporation of self management into the mental health nursing curriculum. An e-learning resource was designed, and video created to strengthen students’ understanding of self management and enable them to talk about it with patients. These resources provide first year students with the fundamentals of self management, and will be built upon in future SMRP sessions.

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