Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Talking Therapies

How can Talking Therapies help me?

Many people experience feelings of low mood and anxiety in their life which can lead to them feeling overwhelmed.

Talking Therapies Practitioners are trained to help you understand more about these difficulties and suggest options that may help. This may be within our service or signposting you to the right place.

The service supports people experiencing difficulties such as anxiety, depression, stress and PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder).

We also support people experiencing anxiety and depression related to Long Term Health Conditions (LTC), the perinatal period and difficulties relating to employment.

Long Term Health Conditions

Long-term physical health may include conditions such as chronic pain, fatigue, diabetes, COPD, coronary heart disease.

We provide a range of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) based support options including 1:1 support, online self-help programmes and group workshops that aim to enhance self- management of symptoms and address low mood and anxiety that often occur alongside the condition.

The Perinatal Period

Having a baby can be joyful, exciting and rewarding. However, as many as one in five women/birthing people experience emotional difficulties during pregnancy and after their baby’s birth. This can happen to anyone. BSW Talking Therapies give priority appointments to pregnant women/birthing people who are experiencing anxiety or low mood from conception to when your baby is 2 years old.

Difficulties relating to employment

We also have a dedicated team of employment advisers available to offer support in remaining in, returning to or finding work.

What we can offer you

We offer short-term CBT based interventions focused on helping you move towards your goals. You are able to self-refer and book an assessment with one of our practitioners. We will concentrate on steps that you can take to help you tackle your difficulties.

If our service is appropriate for your needs, your practitioner will discuss the options that are most suitable with you. However, if after trying the options offered, you feel you need more help, an appointment for review can be arranged. You will meet with the practitioner to discuss next steps, which may include 1:1 treatment sessions.

Length of sessions

Each assessment session lasts between 30 and 45 minutes. Our self-help courses and workshops can run up to 2 hours. They run in the evenings as well as various times in the day.

Privacy & confidentiality

As with any health care appointment, we will note your attendance in our records. We may also add brief comments about your progress.

Sessions are held in confidence. However, we will let your GP, or other staff involved in your care know that you have accessed our services.

If there is a risk to your safety or that of others, we have a duty to share relevant information with other professionals. We would always try to discuss this with you first.

If you have any questions about privacy and confidentiality, or any other matter in this leaflet, please talk about it at your assessment.

How do you use my information?

Staff caring for you will use your information and the record about your health and your previous care to help them give you the best treatment.

For more information please see the Trust’s Fair Processing notices at www.awp.nhs.uk

Monitoring your progress

We may try to get in touch after your last contact with the service, if we feel you would benefit from further appointments.

To make an appointment

At busy times, your call may go through to our answer machine: please leave your name and a contact number and we will call you back as soon as possible. If you would like to use email, see back page for locality email.

If your first language is not English or if you use British Sign Language, our staff can book a range of interpreting and translation services for you.

Cancellations

There is a high demand for this service. Please try to give us as much notice as possible if you have to cancel an appointment. This will allow us to offer your appointment to someone else. We may discharge you if you repeatedly miss appointments.