Funded Therapy (free for you)

You can access NHS funded therapy by visiting your GP who can make a referral to local services in your area.

Your GP may feel you require a referral to a mental health team who can offer more in-depth assessment and support. If you do not feel comfortable speaking to your GP you can self-refer into 'Let’s Talk' which is an NHS funded psychological therapy service.

Relate is a psychotherapy service and operates in most areas. They accept self-referrals and referrals from the GP. They also specialise in relationship and psychosexual therapy if this is something that you require support with particularly. They offer both free and funded sessions but operate on a sliding scale. This means that you can donate what you can afford.

There are a few things to consider with funded therapy such as long waiting lists and limited session numbers, but be assured that if you are in crisis you can access support from the crisis teams. Further your clinician will assess if you require further support than what they are able to offer and will ensure you are signposted to the relevant service.

Private Therapy (you’ll need to pay)

You can access private therapy from a variety of sources, it can be a little overwhelming as there are so many choices and you might not always know what you are looking for. We would recommend looking through the Counselling Directory: www.counselling-directory.org.uk

Some key things to consider:

• Ensure you are searching for an accredited counsellor or therapist (this will be included in their qualifications & title, memberships include NCPS, BACP, HCPC, CORST)

• Ask if the professional if they will offer a short free consultation to see if they feel like a good match for you

• Ensure they can offer trauma therapies such as EMDR, Trauma Focussed CBT and Narrative Exposure Therapy

If you’re already accessing therapy

If you are currently under any mental health team, or therapy service we would advise consulting with your professionals before engaging with our resources. We want these videos to be as supportive and empowering as possible, but your safety and wellbeing is priority. They have been designed so they can be accessed at any time, this means you can dip in and out of our resources at a time and pace that feels right for you.