Free life coaching and stress-reduction techniques for people on a low income.
Taking part in This Way Up can help you gain confidence, better mental health, and a clearer path towards your future.
What's included in This Way Up?
A free programme
Most life coaching and mindfulness programmes are unaffordable if you are on a low income. This Way Up is free.
One-to-one life coaching
To help you work out what you want in life – and how you can move towards it.
Skills to feel calmer and more positive
Taught on a mindfulness group course, so that you can deal with whatever life throws your way.
Some people who come to This Way Up take steps towards employment.
For others, it's improvements in their mental health or positive decision-making.
Almost everyone on the course finds that it helps them to take meaningful steps towards their unique goals.
This Way Up supports people to achieve things which might seem simple on the surface, but for those experiencing adversity can be complex in practice.
The impact of This Way Up
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Of participants found that This Way Up was helpful for them.
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People supported to take steps towards their full potential.
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Average improvement in wellbeing reported by This Way Up participants.
Life on a low income requires extra resilience.
It can be a daily struggle.
It is natural to prioritize surviving the present over planning for future goals. And it means we’re more likely to experience mental health issues.
These experiences can lower our confidence and sense of connection to others.
Many people who come to This Way Up feel ‘stuck’.
This Way Up helps people on a low income to build resilience and move towards their goals.
This Way Up’s unique model combines life coaching and mindfulness.
In life coaching, This Way Up provides the space and support to think about what your life goals might look like, and what steps you might take to achieve them.
Alongside this, This Way Up group mindfulness sessions help you to improve your mental health, handle stress, and improve your self-esteem.
This naturally puts us in a better place to take steps towards the goals we have set, and leads to more positive decision-making.
This Way Up participants are ready for something different.
Many people come to This Way Up with complex histories and experiences.
Sometimes this can be dramatic – like having been trafficked, or violently attacked.
Often it is more commonplace – job loss, bereavement, mental health or overwhelming family responsibilities.
Some parts of life may have become quite challenging, like employment, social life or even doing things that we enjoy.
What people who come to This Way Up share is that the time is right for them – to get support and to start to realise their potential.
'I can reach peace. I'm less anxious when I think about the close future and the next steps for me - it brought clarity.'
‘I became a single parent to end an abusive relationship… which started a painful battle in court and my ex-partner stopped sending child support. I had to stop work after accumulating childcare debts. I’ve been suffering from anxiety and struggled to get back on my feet after Covid.
In 2021 we had a bedbug infection that took months to overcome. I had to throw most of our belongings and furniture. I’ve been slowly trying to refurnish our flat. All of this has affected me and how I handle my finances, my job search or my family.
[After participating in This Way Up] I can reach peace. I’m less anxious when I think about the close future and the next steps for me – it brought clarity. I feel like I can face any situation that used to bring me stress and still remain OK, without diving into depression or extreme anxiety/panic. I feel like I have the tools to handle all that now.
My situation is the same, and I’m the same person, but I feel different – brighter and more open. My goal in life is to carry with me everything I’ve learned in the programme for as long as I can.’
This Way Up participants report an average 62% improvement in their wellbeing.
At This Way Up, people on a low income are taking pivotal steps towards employment, and making huge strides in their health and confidence.
Could you help more people get crucial support to fulfil their potential?
- and can make a change, where before they thought they were powerless.
There is an urgent need for support for people on a low income to feel better and realise their potential.
Mindfulness-related programmes for mental health and wellbeing have become more common in recent years.
However, these often cost in the £100s, and research shows they are generally unaffordable for people living on low incomes.
This Way Up is tailored to what people living on low incomes really need.
Other mindfulness-related programmes may not operate with those on low incomes in mind. They are often presented as ‘self-improvement’ rather than as tools for facing adversity. (Mind 2021)
This Way Up is a free and effective alternative.
Mental health and money
0 %
London's poverty rate - the highest of all regions in England.
Source: Trust for London, 2026
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How much more likely you are to develop mental health problems if you live in a household in the lowest 20% income bracket, compared to those in the highest bracket.
Source: Mental Health Foundation, 2021
£ 0
Average rent arrears held by callers to Stepchange - who warn that high levels of debt on household bills are the 'new normal.'
Source: Stepchange, 2026
I had all the pieces of my life to put together, but I did not have the picture on the box. This Way Up was like seeing the picture, and knowing where all the bits should go…
...You only live once and This Way Up gave me a leg up.
FAQs about This Way Up
How to join This Way Up
How does This Way Up work?
How does This Way Up work?
This Way Up’s unique model combines life coaching and mindfulness – we find that these work especially well together.
Through life coaching, This Way Up provides the space and support to think about what your life goals might look like, and what steps you might take to achieve them.
Running alongside this, This Way Up group mindfulness sessions help you to improve your mental health and wellbeing. They support you to handle stress, manage your thoughts and emotions, build resilience and improve your self-esteem.
This naturally puts us in a better place to take steps towards the goals we have set, and leads to more positive decision-making.
This is reflected in the fact that 93% of This Way Up participants say the course was helpful for them.
Who is This Way Up for?
Who is This Way Up for?
This Way Up is for anyone living on a low income who wants to get their life on track, if they feel held back by challenging circumstances or difficult past experiences.
This Way Up’s approach helps people who struggle with anger, mild depression, isolation and chronic pain. But every participant’s individual circumstances will look different.
The common factor is that for them, the time is right to be seeking some support to be able to realise their potential. They want to plan for the future and reconnect with their aspirations. They’re looking for constructive ways to manage negative and self-limiting thinking.
Please note that, while This Way Up can help alleviate some mild-moderate mental health problems like anxiety or depression, it is NOT a therapeutic programme.
This means that This Way Up is not suitable for people currently experiencing a mental health or addiction-related crisis. If you have any questions about this, we are happy to discuss this with you.
What difference can This Way Up make to me?
What difference can This Way Up make to me?
93% of This Way Up participants say that it was helpful for them. Almost everyone on the course finds that it helps them to take meaningful steps towards their goals.
For some people that means steps towards employment. For others, it’s improvements in their mental health or positive decision-making. Everybody sets their own goals on This Way Up, and has their own picture of what positive change looks like for them.
This Way Up can support you to:
- Address issues with your mental health and confidence.
- Find your own resources to take charge of your life.
- Feel confident and well in yourself, so that you can handle stress easily.
- Plan and make decisions better, so that you can take positive steps towards your goals.
- Break out of less helpful habits – with the right tools to do so.
On average, people reported a 63% improvement in their wellbeing on completion of This Way Up.
What is life coaching and how is it used in This Way Up?
What is life coaching and how is it used in This Way Up?
This Way Up includes six one-to-one sessions of life coaching, to help you work out what you want in life and how you can move towards it.
Life coaching involves talking confidentially to someone, who is trained to help you work out what you want in life and how you can achieve it.
A life coach listens carefully, and asks questions to find out more. At the sessions you discuss where you are now, and how you can get to where you want to be.
Life coaching is not counselling or therapy, which helps people to resolve deep-seated issues from the past. It is also not advice, which suggests or tells you what you should do.
Instead, in life coaching YOU take the driving seat, set the agenda, and make a start on what comes next in your life.
What is mindfulness and how is it used in This Way Up?
What is mindfulness and how is it used in This Way Up?
This Way Up includes a six-session mindfulness group course. This teaches you skills to feel calmer and more positive, so you can deal with whatever life throws your way.
Mindfulness is the art of skilful awareness. When you train in mindfulness, you learn to become more aware of what’s actually going on in and around you.
By developing this ‘mental muscle’ through regular practice of simple awareness techniques, you build new neural pathways to parts of the brain associated with calm, wellbeing and emotional positivity. It also counteracts unhelpful ‘autopilot’ thinking – where attention gets stuck in difficult thoughts and emotions.
Our mindfulness course sessions include guided meditations, mindful movement, and other exercises. We also spend time in discussion, both in small break out groups, and in the whole group. We back all this up with some simple explanations of the key concepts.
You will have access to course materials online, including audio and video guided meditations for you to practice in between the sessions. You will be strongly encouraged to do home practice every week – our participants tell us this is very helpful.
Mindfulness is a completely non-religious practice.
What is the time and location of This Way Up?
What is the time and location of This Way Up?
This Way Up currently takes place online. It includes:
- 6x one-to-one sessions of life coaching, delivered via video call – to help you work out what you want in life and how you can move towards it.
- 6x mindfulness group sessions. These teach skills to feel calmer and more positive, so you can deal with whatever life throws your way.
Upcoming dates to join This Way Up
How can I contact This Way Up?
How can I contact This Way Up?
We are happy to answer any questions you may have about This Way Up.
Contact our team at [email protected]