About

First Aid for Feelings, a method for developing health and emotional literacy, was developed by Thor A Rain when they were seriously ill in 2003. Since introducing this holistic healthcare method to the patients they were supporting in 2010, and running the first workshop in 2013:

• More than 500 people have attended First Aid for Feelings workshops
• More than 7,500 one-to-one sessions (including many ad-hoc sessions during COVID-19 lockdown) have been delivered
• More than 2,500 people have signed up for the First Aid for Feelings 10-Day Meditation Course on the Insight Timer app. The course launched in April 2020 at the start of COVID-19. It is consistently rated 4.7+ out of 5 stars, with student numbers continuing to grow
• All in all, more than 5,000 people have benefited from learning the First Aid for Feelings method for developing emotional and health literacy to date.

First Aid for Feelings is delivered by The Helpful Clinic.  Thor founded the clinic as a social venture in 2015.  This means that we are on a mission to make a social impact.  You can read more about the Helpful mission here.

What are the key aspects of the First Aid for Feelings approach to emotional and health literacy?

Drawing on a deep understanding of the mind-body connection and how the body’s fight-or-flight-or-freeze response works, Thor uses Professor Linden’s 3 scoop ice cream analogy of the brain to explain how its structure influences your current reactions to feelings and situations. Your biochemistry matters more than you may realise.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s practice of looking deeply informs the two fundamental principles of First Aid for Feelings: curiosity and compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh was a Zen Buddhist, founder of the Order of Interbeing and recipient of the Global Peace Prize and Courage of Conscience award.

Looking deeply, coupled with practising First Aid for Feelings, enables you to respond more constructively to feelings like stress, anger, anxiety, tiredness and pain. Learning these essential skills of self-care and good health empowers you to respond to difficult feelings more helpfully, make more skilful choices and feel better.

Find out more about First Aid for Feelings here, or if you are curious about Thor’s story, you can read more here.

We are registered with Social Enterprise UK. This is the national body for social enterprise – business with a social or environmental mission