Our Talking Therapy services (previously known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies - IAPT) aim to help you manage a range of common mental health problems including anxiety, stress, depression and low mood.

Our Talking Therapy service is available for people living in Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES), Swindon and the wider county of Wiltshire (BSW). You will need to be 16+ to access the service and currently have a registered GP in BSW.

Please note that Talking Therapy services in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are managed by Vita Health. If you live in these areas, please visit Vita Health here.

Where we offer our therapies

What therapies we offer and how we can help

Talking Therapies are psychological treatments for mental and emotional problems like stress, anxiety and depression. There are lots of different types of talking therapy, but they all involve working with a trained therapist. This may be one-to-one, in a group, online, over the phone, with your family, or with your partner. The therapist helps you understand and cope with the problems you're having.

For some problems and conditions, one type of talking therapy may be better than another. Different Talking Therapies also suit different people.

Many people can struggle to manage their emotions or feelings and need support to find helpful ways to cope. Our services can help you manage a range of common difficulties, including:  

• low mood 

• depression, including post-natal depression (PND)  

• anxiety 

• stress  

• obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)  

• phobias  

• post-traumatic stress (PTSD)  

We use evidence-based therapies, like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Evidence-based means there is proof that the therapies are likely to make you feel better. We can assess what might be affecting you, however we are unable to offer specialist mental health treatment, medication or final diagnosis. You can find helpful information for other conditions via the main search area of the AWP homepage.

The three main types of support we offer are:

• self-help resources, for example information leaflets, relaxing audio media, and access to the SilverCloud website to help with difficulties such as stress, low mood, anxiety and some long-term physical health conditions. This is an online CBT programme with secure access from a computer, tablet or mobile phone with a login. You can find a range of useful media and links in our self-help resources section below.
• courses which you can attend online. 
• one-to-one appointments, assessments and therapy sessions. 

Long Term Conditions

Living with a long-term physical health condition can be challenging both physically and emotionally. The symptoms of health conditions can affect your day-to-day functioning and they often require active and demanding self-management, which can negatively impact your emotional wellbeing.

Within Talking Therapies, we offer a wide range of support for many different long-term health conditions, including:

• chronic pain
• fatigue
• diabetes (type 1 and type 2)
• respiratory conditions (e.g. asthma, COPD),
• cardiac disease
• long COVID
• irritable bowel syndrome