As promised, this entry is to provide a list of resources that I’ve found in my journey to support mental health. Some are widely known, others I’d never heard of but have found useful to either know about to make us of myself. Some are also location specific, and I’ll point this out. I’m including them because if they exist in my area, then it’s likely there will be something similar running in the area you’re reading from.
111 – Option 2
Calling 111 and selecting option 2 will take you through to a 24/7 urgent mental health support line. You’ll be connected with a mental health professional who will provide immediate advice and guidance. This is particularly useful for those who feel unable to go to A&E or try getting a GP appointment – because we know what that’s like! So, if you’re in distress or are having thoughts of harming yourself or others, there is immediate access to someone via this line.
Access Community Mental Health (Alabaré) – Wiltshire
https://alabare.co.uk/our-services/mental-health-help/
As you know, I was paired with the lovely Natalie at Access Community Mental Health who provided me with weekly sessions. These sessions take the form of talking therapy, but she also helped me reframe my mindset about the things I can’t do and helped me identify things that I can do with my limited energy and other interfering health issues.
Access will pair you with a mental health professional who will work with you to help you work towards goals you may have, improve areas of your life that are causing you issues, find better coping techniques and access other wellbeing and resources available near you. These can include group activities, such as choirs, support groups and even creative writing groups – like the one Natalie found for me.
From my experience, there was only a short wait before I was able to start with Natalie and they give you 6 free weekly sessions which last roughly 45-60 minutes.
Access is Wiltshire based, in partnership with Wiltshire Council, so it’s worth looking at your local councils to see if they have a Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership.
BSW Recovery College – Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Wiltshire
https://www.second-step.co.uk/wellbeing-colleges/banes-swindon-wiltshire-recovery-college/
This was something Natalie introduced me to, and I personally think it’s a hidden treasure. The Recovery College provides courses and workshops which can be accessed online and in-person, with quite a variety of useful topics. Their courses include Better Sleep, Building Resilience, An Introduction to Low Mood, Managing Anxiety, Self-Kindness (I’m booked onto this one), ADHD: Minds of All Kinds and Managing Intense Emotions.
Some of the courses are multiple sessions, while others, like the Self-Kindness course, are single sessions. I’m booked in for tomorrow (4/2) and will do a little journalling on my experience.
Olive Branch – Wiltshire
https://olivebranch.charity
Olive Branch is based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and offers low-cost therapy for a period of up to 6 months. The waitlist is around 3 months currently, I initially referred myself in Autumn and I have my first session with my assigned therapist, Heidi, on February 9th.
When you apply you do an online self-referral, which is fairly extensive, and then you’ll have a further telephone assessment so they can pair you with the therapist they feel will be the best fit. Then you’ll be placed on a waitlist until that therapist has an opening in their schedule.
Of course, given I haven’t started, I cannot provide personal feedback, however I’d say they are accommodating. I received an email to say my sessions with Heidi would be on Mondays at 3.45pm in-person, in Chippenham. Now I had a little panic when I received this because Mondays are now choir days, and I wasn’t willing to pick between to two. But a simple email to Heidi allowed me to arrange that my sessions would be online, via Microsoft Teams, so I can hopefully maintain both activities – which I class as red activities, meaning very high energy usage. Generally, two red activities on the same day, or even on consecutive days, is a terrible idea. But I will see how I go next week, knowing that worst case scenario is that I try and make choir on a Thursday morning instead.
I’ve digressed, but Olive Branch sessions are £15 per session which I think is quite low cost given I know how much private therapy can cost. However, for some I know £15 a week is also quite a stretch, given I know I will need to be much more frugal to maintain this weekly cost. However, for me this is an essential health cost as I haven’t been able to reduce my pregabalin since the end of summer due to a lack of MH support. So having this in place will give me the security I need to try reducing this again.
It’s worth seeing if there are affordable counselling services near you, where therapists volunteer their time to provide these sessions at as low a cost as possible. There is always the back up of accessing low-cost therapy through MIND, where the cost of sessions is £20, with an additional £20 fee for your initial assessment.
Shout
https://giveusashout.org
Text: “Shout” to 85258
Shout is confidential and free text line that is open 24/7 for anyone struggling to cope. Simply text “Shout” to 85258 and a trained volunteer will be in touch to support you, day or night. This service also doesn’t appear on your phone bills, ensuring absolute confidentiality. Texts are limited to 160 characters, and you can stop receiving messages by texting “STOP” to the same number. The only time confidentiality can be broken is if they have concern for your safety, which is pretty standard of all MH services.
Shout’s aim is to provide users with immediate support, helping to bring users to a calmer mindset, before working to formulate a plan with users to support themselves. This is a service I’ve not used, but I believe its beneficial to share as I’ve known people in dark places who just cannot function in a phone call at that point.
Second Step – Southwest
https://second-step.co.uk
Second Step was set up by a group of social workers and community psychiatric nurses who recognised a need for mental health services for the homeless and vulnerable, people who would end up in hospital for their mental health because they had nowhere else to go. They work to support people with their mental health in their own homes, with a focus on enabling clients to live more independently, while taking trauma, adversity and psychological issues into account.
Their services include helping those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless find suitable accommodation. Their recovery and mental health services see them working with NHS run mental health services to help people find “hope and courage to take the next step in their recovery.” They run community programmes which include supporting people to move out of residential or supported housing to live independently, supporting people to get back into the community after receiving in-patient care, activities to motivate users, crisis prevention safe spaces and much more. In a nutshell, the services available are far reaching and undoubtedly needed in the current economic climate for many.
Papyrus HOPEline – For under 35s
https://www.papyrus-uk.org/
Call: 0800 068 4141 Text: 88247 Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org
Papyrus is a charity set up by a group of bereaved parents who each lost children to suicide. Their core goal is to prevent suicide in young people, and they have bases across the UK.
Their HOPELINE247 is a suicide prevention helpline which is provided by trained suicide prevention advisers, working with young people, or those concerned about a young person. HOPELINE247 is a free and confidential call, text or email service, active every day of the year.
Alongside HOPELINE247, they also offer education and training to anyone, with the aim of creating suicide safe communities.
Cruse
https://cruse.org.uk
Call: 0808 808 1677
Cruse offers bereavement support across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They have a specific helpline, manned by volunteers who are trained in all types of bereavement, alongside local support services.
The support services include Understanding Your Bereavement group sessions, where they provide an overview of ‘grief models’ to help people understand their feelings, 1-2-1 sessions and peer support group sessions. They are upfront about any waitlists in place when someone makes contact for their support services, while their helpline is operational 9.30am – 5pm 4 days a week, Tuesdays its open 1pm – 8pm and closed on weekends.
Nilaari
https://nilaari.co.uk
Nilaari is a black-led charity based out of Bristol, offering mental health support to adults from racialised communities across southwest UK. A few services are available which are sensitive to different cultures and individual needs, serving all black and minoritised communities.
They provide confidential and free 1-2-1 talking therapy for a set number of sessions, 1-2-1 practical support and group therapy sessions. Alongside this, they also provide training to organisations to help them have a better understanding of cultural diversity, as well as collaborating with universities to offer therapy to their students of colour.
The list and information I’ve provided above barely scratches the surface when it comes to mental health support, but I wanted to provide and overview of the services I’ve used, or come across, to give a broader picture as to what services exist and may well exist in your area or country. Alongside these, I found multiple women’s mental health and housing organisations, men’s mental health and housing organisations and child specific services, including for bereavement support. I also know that in the moment, it’s unlikely anyone is in a headspace to spend time on google looking for the right service for them, but hopefully the services I’ve listed above will be a good starting place and a safe space to call or text in the moment.
It’s also worth looking at community noticeboards local to you, often found in supermarkets, community centres and your local GP surgeries. I found noticeboards near me often hold useful leaflets for local services, along with a calendar which highlights local activity and service groups and the days and times they operate, along with locations. For instance, I didn’t know we had a Women’s Shed near me, or specific craft groups and choirs. These are what led me to discovering the Rock Choir, simply because I saw another choir listed on a noticeboard and decided to check on google.
Please do share this or save it for future reference. Perhaps there’s someone you know who could benefit from one of these services, or maybe you can benefit from them, either way the aim is to help others know more about additional services that may be available near you that aren’t so well-known or advertised. I didn’t know many of the organisations above existed before I was in crisis, and that’s a gap I hope this blog can help close for someone else.