In this episode, our CEO Simon Williams and Prof. Chrissie Jones explore the mental health challenges faced by individuals after receiving a serious allergy diagnosis. Prof. Jones explains how different people respond to this life-altering news, from relief at having a plan to overwhelming anxiety about navigating daily life.

They discuss the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), mindfulness techniques, and other psychological interventions that can help manage allergy-related fears, particularly when avoiding social events and eating out due to safety concerns. Learn about practical tools and online resources for building confidence and improving quality of life, as well as how assertive communication can empower individuals in allergy-sensitive environments.

Chrissie Jones is a Professor in Clinical Health Psychology and was awarded a PhD from the Brighton & Sussex Medical School evaluating the extent to which social cognition models could explain adherence to self-care behaviours in children and young people with food allergy. Prior to her PhD, Chrissie completed an MSc in Health Psychology and BA in Social Psychology both at the University of Sussex.

Please see below the links mentioned in the podcast:

• The psychological interventions for patients and their parents with food allergy via Nutricia’s in-house magazine called Small Talk: https://www.nutricia.co.uk/patients-carers.html
• The review Chrissie's team did is freely available online: A review of freely available online support for food allergy-related emotional well-being. Table 1 is very helpful as has a link to all of the webpages they identified.
• Get Self Help has lots of downloadable resources; the problem-solving worksheet is accessible for people to use on their own.

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