What if I need support before my appointment or whilst I'm on a waiting list for treatment? 

Talking Therapies services do not provide urgent care. If you need help right now speak to your GP or surgery mental health nurse if you feel able to. You can also call 111 urgent response line free on 111. For someone to talk to, you can also contact The Samaritans for free on 116 123. The Samaritans offers 24-hour telephone emotional support and befriending in complete confidence.

Where else can I go?

If during assessment we identify that our service is not suitable for you, we may signpost you to other specialist services which may better meet your needs. AWP have put together a list of useful links and resources here.

After you have received support from other specialist services, there is potential to return to Talking Therapies for a review for your needs. At this time you could discuss if now is the right time for support with Talking Therapies, if your goals are in line with what the service offers, or if now is the right time in your journey.

How long will the whole process take? (i.e. assessment, waiting list, treatment)

Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to this question. The length of the whole process will vary according to your treatment plan and your availability. The length of treatment, itself, also varies according to the type of therapy and the problem being treated.  We do aim to provide an assessment where indicated within 6 weeks of contact with our service and if you have any questions about your access to the service, please do contact us.

What if I need further support after completing my course of treatment? 

As you finish treatment, your practitioner will make plans for next steps with you and to maintain progress when therapy ends.

Will I be charged any money for accessing the service? 

No, it is a free NHS funded service.

What treatment do we offer? 

The majority of the work we do uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT looks at how thoughts, feelings and behaviours interact and how they can affect our mood. The sessions will focus on an evidence-based key intervention to enable you to work towards your goals which you identified during the assessment.

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.

Do you offer Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)?

No, this is not available through Talking Therapies.

Do you offer anger management?

While anger maybe present in many, we do not offer anger management in standalone treatment.

What information will be shared with my GP/relevant health care professional?

To support the wellbeing of people who access talking therapies, it is important that we share some information with others who may be involved in your care and wellbeing. We update your GP with your attendance and a brief summary of the outcome of your assessment or therapies with us. Occasionally, we may also liaise with other mental health services or agencies such as our safeguarding team to ensure you and others around you are safe and supported. At the start of your assessment, the practitioner will advise you of our confidentiality statement and you are welcome to ask any questions about this.

Talking therapies does not routinely share information with third parties such as family members, workplaces or other agencies unless we have your consent to do so. An exemption to this is young people under the age of 18, where we may need to share some information with a parent or guardian should we feel additional support around your safety and wellbeing is necessary.

Can I have the same therapist for every appointment?

It is likely that your assessment appointment will be with one practitioner, then someone different will be allocated to treating you. This person will remain as your therapist throughout that treatment. If you are referred for a new treatment your therapist will change.

How does it work for me as a student?

If you are at university then you will still be able to access treatment from the service in your home town (where you are registered with your GP). Consideration might be given regarding risk or additional needs, if it is felt your needs would also be best supported in the location you are currently living.

I have been signposted to another service and found this frustrating, how can I be supported to access other services?  

We understand accessing the right support can be confusing. If you are having difficulties accessing signposting suggestions, Access Mental Health can support you to find and access other services. They can be contacted via: Telephone: 08082 803528

How can I share my feedback?

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is a free, confidential and impartial service for people using AWP’s mental health services. They offer advice, information, support, or guidance with particular issues. You can talk to PALS in confidence about any concerns or comments you might have about your care or someone you care for.

Healthwatch is an independent statutory body that acts as a health and social care champion. They receive feedback about health and care services. If you have any feedback that you would like to share with them about our services you can find their contact details on the following pages; BaNES, Swindon or Wiltshire.

What should I expect from treatment?

Click on each locality page for more information. 

BaNES, Swindon or Wiltshite. 

You will find a selection of self-help guides and resources to give you, or the person you care for, the information and tools needed to effectively support your mental health. Visit our self-help and resources page here for tips and advice on managing your mental wellbeing. In addition to general resources, you will find links to specific resources depending on your life situation. 

To assess our effectiveness as a service and continually improve patient care we need to collect data about you, your treatment and the outcomes and analyse it. We store this safely and securely and send some of your information to NHS England where it is used to produce anonymised reports and analysis. For further details, including how you can access your health records, please read our use of patient information sheet here. You’ll also find the contact details for the National Data Opt Out service, which allows you to have a say in how your information is used for research and planning, including the right to opt out.

To support the wellbeing of people who access talking therapies, it is important that we share some information with others who may be involved in your care and wellbeing. We update your GP with your attendance and a brief summary of the outcome of your assessment or therapies with us. Occasionally, we may also liaise with other mental health services or agencies such as our safeguarding team to ensure you and others around you are safe and supported. At the start of your assessment, the practitioner will advise you of our confidentiality statement and you are welcome to ask any questions about this.

Talking therapies does not routinely share information with third parties such as family members, workplaces or other agencies unless we have your consent to do so. An exemption to this is young people under the age of 18, where we may need to share some information with a parent or guardian should we feel additional support around your safety and wellbeing is necessary.

Click here to open the video consultation guide or for more information on digital appointments, click here.