Healthy Minds

What happens after I am referred?

Before you start treatment, we have to have a more detailed conversation to better understand how you’re feeling. We call this an ‘assessment’. It is usually done over the phone and helps us identify the most appropriate support we can offer

Currently it may be up to 6 months from when you refer before we can book you in for this initial assessment. The team are working really hard to minimise this wait as much as we can. We hope it will be sooner, but we regularly receive more than 1,000 referrals each month, so demand for us is really high.

After around 10 weeks from your referral we will write to you. We will aim to provide more information about when your appointment for the assessment may be. In this letter we will also provide lots of resources and details of support you can access in the meantime.

 

What can I do while I am waiting?

The letter we send you after around 10 weeks from your referral will include lots of resources and links. But some of these you can access yourself, today. These include:

• Silvercloud: SilverCloud courses are designed to help you improve and maintain your wellbeing by changing the way you think and feel about things. There are several free courses to pick from including positive body image, panic, COVID-19, depression, anxiety, stress and many more. All you need is access to the internet and sound on a computer, tablet or mobile. The programme is flexible so you can use it anytime, anyplace, and anywhere. They feature videos, activities, quizzes, audio guides and your own online journal.  The self-led online therapy can be accessed using your own email and chosen password along with the access code: SIGNPOST For more information and to sign up visit: Silvercloud (URL: https://hacw.silvercloudhealth.com/signup/)
• Qwell: Free, safe and anonymous mental wellbeing support for adults across the UK (https://www.qwell.io/)
• Self-help guides: Comprehensive digital guides covering a wide range of mental health challenges available in PDF and audio formats (URL: https://www.healthyminds.whct.nhs.uk/guides)
• Every Mind Matters: Expert advice and practical tips to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing (URL: https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/)
• Herefordshire and Worcestershire Wellbeing and Recovery College: Courses and workshops to give people the tools, skills and understanding that they need for their own wellbeing and recovery. (URL: https://hwwellbeingandrecoverycollege.org.uk/)
• Here2Help (if you live in Worcestershire): Here2Help is a service that offers support for people of all ages. It includes information, advice, tools, guidance and local support available in the local community (URL: https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/here2help)
• Talk Community (if you live in Herefordshire): Talk Community is helping residents, businesses, community leaders and our council to make Herefordshire a better place to live and work (URL: https://www.talkcommunity.org/)
• There’s also lots more on the Healthy Minds website

 

What if I feel worse in the meantime?

The resources and services you can access will hopefully help improve, or at least manage, how you are feeling. However, you may need to return to your GP surgery for a further discussion. If you feel like you need urgent support, or are at crisis point, then please call the local 24/7 urgent mental health helpline. It is free and open to everyone in Herefordshire and Worcestershire by calling 0808 196 9127

 

When will I receive an appointment for my telephone assessment?

Currently it may be 4 to 5 months from the point of referral before we can book you in for this initial assessment. As soon as we are able to offer you a telephone appointment for this, we will be in contact by phone or post. If you no longer feel you need the appointment we will include details of who to contact. If you can’t make the appointment time we have offered, you can get in touch and we will do our best to rearrange as quickly as we can.

 

What is the assessment like?

‘Assessment’ sounds a bit scary, and you might also hear it called a ‘screening appointment’, which isn’t a particularly friendly term either. Really though, it is just a conversation with our team. You can share a bit more information about how you feel, what makes you feel worse, and what you do to make things a bit easier. Our team are completely non-judgmental, and the discussion will help us identify what the next steps might be.

 

What are the next steps after my assessment?

If we feel we can support you, we generally have three types of service we can offer. Some people may access one of these, others may use a mix – it really depends on each individual. Our three services are:

• Supported online programme, Silvercloud.

This is different from the more general Silvercloud option which anyone can access, anytime. You will be guided through the online course with our team and it will be tailored to meet your specific circumstances.

There is no real wait to access this. You can expect to be up and running within a week or two of the assessment if this is deemed an appropriate option.

• Group therapy sessions

If the thought of talking about your feelings in front of other people sounds daunting, don’t worry, that’s perfectly normal. But our group sessions are really helpful and if they are right for you, we will support you to access one in your local area. People can really benefit from hearing from others who are experiencing similar things to them. It creates a peer support network.

Groups sessions are scheduled frequently across both counties and can run for 6-8 weeks.

You may have to wait a few weeks for a session covering a topic most relevant to you.

• 1:1 support

We run a range of traditional 1:1 support.  For example cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), counselling for depression (CfD) along with other forms of CBT. All these will be explained to you if this is the best course of treatment for you.

Unfortunately there can be a further, lengthy wait this type of treatment, depending on which is appropriate.

We are working really hard to minimise the wait for 1:1 support as much as we can. You may be invited to access the supported online programme and/or a group session until we can confirm an appointment.

We hope this provides a useful guide to how our Healthy Minds service works. Please note the information around waiting times is a guide only, and we hope to see people much sooner. We also feel it is important that we are open and transparent from the start. We have a plan in place to reduce waiting times as much as we can. Please don’t be put off from accessing our service if you think we can help.

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) help people improve their mental wellbeing through a range of interventions such as short educational courses, online therapy programme (SilverCloud) and Guided Self-Help (face to face or via the telephone). This includes setting realistic goals and looking at how what we think and what we do affects the way that we feel.

A PWP can offer up to 6 one to one sessions, each lasting around 30mins. During these sessions questions will be asked in order to monitor your progress.

What we think and what we do affect how we feel. When we have negative or anxious thoughts and listen to them, we can begin to change our behaviour and act in ways that reinforce the thoughts. We can all develop patterns of thoughts and behaviours that are unhelpful; after all we’re only human.
 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an approach that helps you recognise and change those patterns. By changing what we think and what we do, we can change how we feel for the better, and this is what your CBT Therapist will help you to do.

Taking part in CBT involves, attending weekly sessions that are typically 50-60 minutes

• Attending around 12 sessions
• Practicing skills in between the sessions
• Developing the strategies and techniques you need for a calmer and happier life

 

Our Counsellors’ are trained to listen to you and value your point of view.  We aim to provide a supportive and therapeutic space to help understand your thoughts and feelings.

Counselling is a form of talking therapy that has been proven to help lift symptoms of depression.  Depression can be caused by many different life events and situations; including bereavement of a loved one, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem and changes in circumstances.

Counselling will generally run for 6 weekly sessions and each session lasts for 50 minutes. During these sessions we will ask you to complete some questionnaires for us to monitor your progress.

 

If you access Worcestershire Healthy Minds, you will also have access to a specialist employability service, delivered in conjunction with Mental Health Matters. This additional service will give access to Employment Advisors to provide specialist free confidential advice if you are unemployed and looking at gaining employment, as well as support if stress, anxiety and depression are affecting your work. You can find out more about the employment service by heading to the Mental Health Matters Website

If you access Herefordshire Healthy Minds, you will also have access to Landau Herefordshire an employment and training services. If you are unemployed and looking at gaining employment, as well as support if stress, anxiety and depression are affecting your work. You can find out more about the employment service by heading to the Landau Herefordshire Website