Thermal School of Stress A unique concept combining psychoeducation and thermal spa treatment in Saujon

The Thermal School of Stress, physical AND psychological care

The Thermal School of Stress is a unique concept that combines a psychoeducational approach with a spa treatment. This integrative approach offers psychoeducational workshops lasting 5 days or 3 weeks alongside balneotherapy treatments.

The main objectives are to lower the state of tension, better understand the mechanisms experienced, identify them and know how to defuse them... A follow-up study, carried out on more than 500 patients over the last 5 years, showed a significant improvement at the end of the treatment (compared to the beginning of the treatment), on the reduction of stress, the reduction, or even the cessation of tranquilizers, on the quality of life of spa guests. Results consolidated and/or improved 3 months after the treatment.

Although the ETS was created in 2012 to organize workshops on stopping or reducing tranquilizers, the support has expanded over the past few years to include new pathologies.

ENDOMETRIOSIS PROGRAM: 3 weeks of thermal treatments + 3 weeks of workshops at the Thermal School of Stress)

Endometriosis is a complex disease that causes chronic pain. Pain, which can be very difficult to live with and even debilitating, impacts quality of life, with a significant impact on personal, professional, marital, and social life. This course, led by healthcare professionals and a patient resource, offers the opportunity to create a personal toolbox to learn how to live better with endometriosis and/or adenomyosis.

TEENAGERS-YOUNG ADULTS PROGRAM: 3 weeks + 1 week of workshops at the Thermale du Stress school

A specific package is in place for 16- to 25-year-olds who are covered by specific health insurance. The indications for this program are: anxiety or depressive-reactive disorders, sleep disorders, eating disorders, addictive disorders, and the avoidance of psychotropic medications. Psychotherapeutic support may be provided in addition to the spa program.

POST-BREAST CANCER TREATMENT: 3 weeks + 1 week of workshops at the Thermale du Stress school

The psychological management of cancer is a real hurricane that often shakes everything in its path. This treatment involves physical and psychological care aimed at reducing internal tension and helping women reconsider themselves and move more calmly toward new perspectives. Various workshops are offered.

BURN-OUT: 3 days, 5 days or 3 weeks or company intervention + 3 days, 5 days or 3 weeks of workshop at the Thermale du Stress school

Saujon is a national reference center for burnout management (for prevention or support). It offers treatment through a spa treatment combined with CBT workshops through the Thermal School of Stress. The center's experts can also work outside the resort directly within companies. Identifying suffering, preventing burnout, managing exhaustion, supporting conflict management and traumatic events in the workplace, training managers and business leaders as well as occupational health professionals, and offering rapid care tailored to individual situations are the main objectives.

BURN-OUT SPECIAL FOR WOMEN: 3 days, 5 days or 3 weeks or in-company intervention + 3 days, 5 days or 3 weeks of workshop at the Thermale du Stress school

Women are more affected than men because they often carry a variety of mental burdens that can lead to physical and psychological exhaustion. Their commitment to work, raising children, caring for a loved one with a disability or chronic illness, and managing household chores all make them more vulnerable.

NEW FOR 2024: BETTER ASSERT YOURSELF : 3 weeks
The objectives of this internship are:

• Understanding the benefits of good self-assertion
• Practical situation based on your expectations
• Regain confidence in your communication
• Enrich your toolbox with techniques for managing delicate situations

SPECT'H Study - WEANING
For a new study launched in 2023 at the Saujon thermal baths, relating to withdrawal from psychotropic substances, 150 patients are being sought.

In 2015, a study titled SPECTh (Psychotropic Drug Withdrawal through Psychotherapeutic Education in Spa Treatment) demonstrated the benefits of spa treatment combined with a psychoeducational protocol for reducing benzodiazepine consumption. The overuse of psychotropic drugs is indeed a major public health problem in France. In France, consumption of these substances is twice as high as in all other European countries combined. The figures speak for themselves:

12% of French people are regular users and 24.5% have consumed at least one psychotropic drug in the last 12 months.

In 2023, a new study, SPECTh II, will be launched. Led by the CNAM (National Health Insurance Fund), its objective is to evaluate the specific contribution of the SPECTh program, developed from cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational therapy, to the outcome of weaning.
Two groups of patients will be monitored at the Saujon thermal baths. One will receive a simple thermal spa treatment with balneotherapy treatments, while the other group will follow the psychoeducational protocol called SPECTh, created in Saujon by Dr. Olivier Dubois and validated by the CNETh, in addition to the treatments.

150 patients wanted
The aim is to recruit 150 patients who have been chronic benzodiazepine users for more than six months and are motivated to stop their treatment, having experienced several previous failures. Patient recruitment is currently open. This integrative care program offers courses in the form of three-week psychoeducational workshops in addition to balneotherapy treatments. It should be noted that in Saujon, a leading resort in the field of mental health, other programs address the management of stress, sleep disorders, burnout, etc.

And still sleep disorders, benzodiazepine withdrawal, fibromyalgia, respite for caregivers ...