Where you can go to seek mental health help
If the time comes when you feel you need to seek professional help for your mental health, it's good to know what all of your options are. So we've compiled a list of where and how you can find the best help for you.
If you're dealing with a mental health problem, the first step of recognising you need help and asking for it, can be the hardest. If you don't know where to go to get help, it can be even harder. So to help you, here are some good places to start:
Go to your doctor
Your GP is a great first place to start. Because they look after your physical and mental health, they might be able to pinpoint whether what you're going through could be the result of a physical condition or deficiency and diagnose you, offer you treatment in the form of talking therapies and/or medication or refer you to a specialist such as a psychiatrist.
Talking therapies is a new and free service by the NHS to provide patients with access to counselling both in person and online.
Find a therapistyourself
On the other hand if you know exactly what you want - for example to talk to a counsellor about problems you are facing, stress or depression or to seek CBT for anxiety, then directly getting in touch with a therapist may be an option. Welldoing.org is a directory of therapists which can help match you to the right therapy and therapist.
Therapy is provided online, in person and on the phone and you can search through and find therapists yourself based on a number of criteria such as location, years practising and the type of therapy they offer. There are also some helpful articles how to deal with different mental health problems and what people's experience of therapy has been like.
Seek help from charities and other organisations
There are a number of charities in the UK, like Mind, which offer a variety of services such as helplines, articles on different conditions, support groups talking therapies, crisis support and complimentary and alternative therapies such as art therapy, yoga and ayurvedic medicine.
Whichever service you pick, know that you don't have to stick to it if you don't feel it's working. But we hope you do find the right way and begin your journey towards happy, health and positive mental health.
