Talking therapies

Talking therapies

Talking therapies, or psychological therapies, are effective and confidential treatments delivered by fully trained and accredited NHS practitioners. They can help if you're struggling with things like feelings of depression, excessive worry, social anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

You do not need to have a diagnosed mental health problem to refer yourself to an NHS talking therapies service.

Getting support as soon as you start having difficulties can help to reduce their impact.

You may be:

feeling anxious
feeling low and hopeless
having panic attacks
finding it hard to cope with work, life or relationships
struggling with flashbacks and nightmares about things from your past
feeling stressed

Other things that talking therapies can help with include:

worrying a lot
obsessive thoughts or behaviours
fear social situations
being afraid of things, such as spiders, flying or heights (phobias)

Talking therapies can also help if you have mental health problems resulting from other conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, long-term pain or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

If you’ve already been diagnosed with a mental health condition you can still refer yourself to an NHS talking therapies service, or a GP can refer you.

What happens when you refer yourself

Contact your local NHS talking therapies service.
Someone from the service will get in touch, usually within a few weeks.
They’ll ask for more details about the problems you’re having. This is known as an assessment.
If the service thinks they can help you, they’ll recommend a therapy for you. This is based on your symptoms and how severe they are.
Waiting times for the first session vary. The service will tell you what to expect.

To access your local talking therapy service, click the link below for your area.

Basildon and Brentwood Mid Essex South East Essex Thurrock