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Is therapy free in northern ireland

Mental health services

If you are experiencing problems with your mental health it is important to talk to your GP about your thoughts and feelings. The earlier you seek help the easier it will be to identify and resolve your problems.

Your GP

Usually all assessments start with your doctor. Your GP will assess your needs. With your GP, you will be able to decide the best course of action.

Your GP may treat you directly or refer you to mental health services.

Your visit is confidential.  The doctor will not tell your family, friends or anyone else what you discuss without your consent.

They can share information without your consent if:

  • there is a legal obligation
  • it necessary to make sure your safety or the safety of others

Mental health services

If you are referred to mental health services, they will decide your level of priority and contact you to make an appointment.

If your mental health problems are compromising your personal safety, mental health services will see you as soon as possible.

When you are referred to mental health services, a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or a mental health nurse may assess you.

What happens when you are referred to mental health services

Mental health services will ask you about your:

  • current problems, thoughts and feelings  
  • personal history, including any previous treatments that worked for you
  • social history, including details about your relationship and family life
  • previous emotional and mental health problems
  • lifestyle
  • physical health needs
  • any medication you take

Personal well-being plan

Mental health services will explain any diagnosis being made and will work with you to develop a personal well-being plan (PWP).

Your personal well-being plan summarises your needs and brings together treatment and care options to help you recover. This may include one or a several interventions such as:

  • talking therapies
  • family and social care
  • occupational and lifestyle coaching
  • drug therapy

Community and hospital care

Different health professionals provide mental healthcare.

Primary Care Talking Therapies teams

This generally involves support by counsellors or life well-being coaches. Your GP arranges the care.

Community mental health services

This generally involves care provided by one or more of the following professionals:

  • nurses
  • social workers
  • psychiatrists
  • psychologists
  • occupational therapists
  • family therapists
  • psychotherapists

Your local Health and Social Care Trust arranges this care.

Acute mental health services

This generally involves care provided by a Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team or specialist hospital care team.

These services give support in crisis and can provide intensive home support or admission to hospital when someone is temporarily unable to manage independently.

Specific services

This usually involves receiving care from a specialist team, such as:

  • alcohol or drug addiction
  • eating disorders
  • psychological therapies or trauma
  • personality disorders
  • forensic services

What happens when it’s an emergency

If you’re in danger of harming yourself or others and you refuse treatment, you may need an emergency assessment  This is when a doctor and an approved social worker (a social worker who is specially trained in mental health) assess you.

This may lead to you having to be admitted to hospital against your will for assessment. This assessment should make sure you get the support and care you need and that you don’t harm yourself or anyone else.

There are three ways to have an emergency assessment:

  • by going to the emergency department at a local hospital
  • by contacting your GP or your GP out of hours service
  • if the police take you to a place of safety

Places of safety

A place of safety could be:

  • your own home
  • a hospital emergency department
  • a police station

Review of your treatment

A review will take place three months after you go into hospital. If necessary, you will be asked if you give your permission for the treatment to continue.

If you refuse permission, a second independent doctor (a second opinion appointed doctor or SOAD), will be asked to confirm that treatment should continue against your will.

More useful links

Counselling is a talking therapy that involves a trained therapist listening to you and helping you find ways to deal with emotional issues.

Sometimes the term “counselling” is used to refer to talking therapies in general, but counselling is also a type of therapy in its own right.

What can counselling help with?

Counselling can help you cope with:

  • a mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety or an eating disorder
  • an upsetting physical health condition, such as infertility
  • a difficult life event, such as a bereavement, a relationship breakdown or work-related stress
  • difficult emotions – for example, low self-esteem or anger
  • other issues, such as sexual identity

What to expect from counselling

At your appointment, you’ll be encouraged to talk about your feelings and emotions with a trained therapist, who’ll listen and support you without judging or criticising.

The therapist can help you gain a better understanding of your feelings and thought processes, and find your own solutions to problems. But they will not usually give advice or tell you what to do.

Counselling can take place:

  • face to face
  • in a group
  • over the phone
  • by email
  • online through live chat services (learn more about online tools for mental health)

You may be offered a single session of counselling, a short course of sessions over a few weeks or months, or a longer course that lasts for several months or years.

It can take a number of sessions before you start to see progress, but you should gradually start to feel better with the help and support of your therapist.

Can you get free counselling on the NHS?

You can get free talking therapies, including counselling for depression, on the NHS.

You do not need a referral from a GP.

You can refer yourself directly to a talking therapies service.

Find a talking therapies service in your area

Or you can get a referral from a GP if you prefer.

Find out more about free talking therapies on the NHS

Private counselling

If you decide to pay to see a private therapist, make sure they’re qualified and you feel comfortable with them.

The cost of private counselling can vary depending on where you live, with a session costing anywhere between £10 and £70.

Many private therapists offer an initial free session and lower rates for students, job seekers and those on low wages.

You should ask about charges and agree a price before starting a course of counselling.

Charities and voluntary organisations

Some charities and voluntary organisations also offer counselling. These organisations usually specialise in a particular area, such as couples counselling, bereavement or family guidance.

You do not need a referral from a GP for an appointment for these services, but you may have to pay a fee to cover the cost of your sessions.

Charities that may offer counselling include:

  • Cruse Bereavement Care – for bereavement advice and support
  • Rape Crisis England & Wales – for women and girls who have been raped or sexually abused
  • Relate – for relationship advice and counselling
  • Samaritans – for people to talk about whatever’s troubling them at any time
  • Victim Support – for victims and witnesses of crime

You may also be able to access support groups through your local community, church or social services.

Finding a qualified therapist

As counselling involves talking about sensitive issues and revealing personal thoughts and feelings, your counsellor should be experienced and professionally qualified.

Reputable therapists will be registered with a professional organisation that’s been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). This means they have met the PSA’s required professional standards to practise.

You can find a qualified therapist in 3 simple steps on the PSA website

Other talking therapies

As well as counselling, there are many other types of psychological therapies (or talking therapies) that involve talking to a therapist about your feelings or problems.

Read more about other talking therapies and how they can help

Video: Talking therapies for stress, anxiety and depression

Animated video explaining self-referral to talking therapies services for stress, anxiety or depression.

Talking therapies can be very helpful if you are experiencing stress, low mood, depression or anxiety. Around one in five people suffer from anxiety or depression every year.

Talking therapies can be very helpful if you are experiencing stress, low mood, depression or anxiety. Around one in five people suffer from anxiety or depression every year, and talking therapies provide people with support and treatment to overcome these difficulties.

Depending on your problem and where you live in the UK, you may be able to access:

  • Consultation and advice.
  • Courses, workshops and groups.
  • Guided self-help.
  • Individual counselling and psychological therapy.

What to expect

You can find out all about what to expect from talking therapy, how it works and how it might help you, from our leaflet called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

If you refer yourself for counselling, the next step will depend on where you live. You will often have an assessment with a counsellor first. This may be in person or over the phone. The counsellor will find out more about you and can advise you on which form of help would suit you best.

If you think you are depressed, it would be very helpful if you filled in a questionnaire before you speak to the counsellor. This questionnaire, called the PHQ9, will give your therapist a better idea of what your problems are and what help you need. We suggest you complete the questionnaire which you can find here and keep a copy for your appointment.

Find out more

You can find lots of information about depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health disorders from our leaflets. You can also find advice on some ways of managing stress, loneliness and low mood, such as mindfulness.

The self-referral services on this page are not crisis services. If you need urgent help, you should contact your GP, go to your local A&E department or contact the Emergency Services by dialling 999.

If you are having thoughts of self-harm, you can find out more about help which is available and how you can help deal with these thoughts from our information leaflet called Suicidal Thoughts.

How do I refer myself?

You can refer yourself to your local talking therapy service using the links below if you know which city or Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) your GP practice is in.

If you are not sure which CCG your GP practice is in, you can find out by entering your practice’s postcode in this tool.

Please be aware that self-referral is not available in every part of the UK. Please search the NHS website or contact your GP if you cannot find your area below, or if any of the links are not working.

Ashford Kent

Basildon and Brentwood Essex

Barking and Dagenham Essex

Barnet London

Barnsley Yorkshire

Bath Avon

Bedfordshire

Berkshire

Bexley London

Birmingham

Blackburn with Darwen

Blackpool

Bolton

Brent London

Bristol Avon

Bromley London

Buckinghamshire

Calderdale West Yorkshire

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Camden and Islington London

Central London (Westminster)

Chorley and South Ribble Lancashire

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

Coventry and Warwickshire

Crawley, Sussex

Croydon Surrey/London

Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley, Kent

Derbyshire

Dorset

Ealing London

East Kent

East Lancashire

East Surrey or details of all local counselling service providers

East Sussex

Enfield London

Fylde and Wyre Lancashire

Guildford and Waverley CCG Surrey

Gloucestershire (or for services in South Gloucestershire see Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire)

Greater Preston Lancashire

Greenwich London

Hackney London

Hammersmith & Fulham London

Haringey London

Harrogate and Rural District Yorkshire

Harrow London

Havering London

Herefordshire

Hillingdon London

Horsham, Sussex

Hounslow London

Isle of Wight

Kingston London

Kirklees (including Huddersfield) West Yorkshire

Lambeth London

Leeds Yorkshire

Leicester City Leicestershire

Leicestershire and Rutland

Lewisham London

London

Lincolnshire

Liverpool Merseyside

Manchester

Medway Kent

Merton London

Mid Essex

Mid Sussex

Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire

Morecambe Bay Lancashire

Newham London

Newcastle Tyne and Wear

North Cumbria

Northumberland

Nottingham City Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Norfolk and Waveney

North East Essex

North East Hants and Farnham or details of all local counselling service providers

North East Somerset

North Staffordshire

North Yorkshire

North West Surrey CCGs or details of all local counselling service providers

Oxfordshire

Portsmouth

Redbridge London

Redditch and Bromsgrove Worcestershire

Richmond Surrey

Richmondshire Yorkshire

Scarborough and Ryedale Yorkshire

Sheffield Yorkshire

Shropshire

Somerset (or for services in North Somerset see Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire)

South Cumbria

South Essex

Southampton Hampshire

Southwark London

South Worcestershire

St Helens Merseyside

Suffolk

Sunderland

Surrey Downs or details of all local counselling service providers

Surrey Heath or details of all local counselling service providers

Sutton Surrey

Swale Kent

Telford and Wrekin Shropshire

Thurrock Essex

Tower Hamlets London

Vale of York Yorkshire

Waltham Forest London

Wandsworth London

West Essex

West Lancashire

Westminster London

West Sussex

Wirral Merseyside

Wolverhampton West Midlands

Wyre Forest Worcestershire

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Self-referral for talking therapy is not routinely available on the NHS in Scotland. However, there are options available for online self-help courses, support groups, befriending schemes and self help books.

The Scottish Association for Mental Health website has an email where you can enquire about local services, and details of several local services you can refer yourself to.

Breathing Space is a free telephone helpline offering help and support to anyone suffering from mental health problems. It is open from 6 pm-2 am Monday-Thursday and 6 pm Friday-6 am on Monday.

In Northern Ireland, there is no IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) service. This means that there is no NHS self-referral option for talking therapies in Northern Ireland. All referral is through your GP.

OCD UK gives a useful summary of the pathway to follow for seeking help. Although this relates to help for OCD, the process is similar for patients with depression and anxiety, who would access counselling through self-referral in England.

Contact is a charity with an independent counselling service, based in Belfast. It aims to provide crisis counselling to anyone living in Northern Ireland.

The Counselling Directory also provides a list of private accredited counsellors and therapists.

The Community Wellbeing Service in the Isle of Man offers a variety of treatment options for people with mental health problems.

Jersey talking therapies offers free services to over 18s living in Jersey. However, it is not a self-referral servce. You need to ask your GP or another mental healthcare professional to refer you.

While every effort is made to keep these details up to date, the company cannot be held responsible for links to NHS services. If you have any queries, please contact your GP.

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