Supported self-help service

Free mental health support for adults.

What is supported self-help?

Supported self-help is a free, 6-week guided programme. Through the programme, you will be given the materials to understand and manage your feelings, and your practitioner will call you regularly to provide support.

You don’t need a GP referral to sign up for supported self-help.

This is a one-to-one guided self-help service, not a counselling service. But our practitioners do use counselling based skills in their support. It incorporates some Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) style tools but also provides other kinds of support.

Supported self-help is not an emergency service. If you, or the person you are with are at immediate risk, go to your nearest A&E or call 999.

Who is it for?

• It doesn’t matter if you’re on a waiting list for mental health support. But if you are currently receiving another form of support such as counselling, please complete your treatment first and then come back to us if you’d still like some support.
• Supported self-help is a service for anyone who feels their emotions are getting on top of them no matter what the challenges are that you’re facing.
• You don’t need to have a diagnosed mental health condition to access this service. If you have different needs, your practitioner will put you in touch with other services that might be able to help.

How does it work?

Once you’ve signed up, we’ll get in touch to talk about the challenges you’re facing. If supported self-help is right for you, together we’ll agree a programme of support. This can cover any of the following:

• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Coping with grief and loss
• Loneliness and feeling lonely
• Low self esteem
• Low mood and depression
• Managing anger
• Managing stress
• Understanding menopause

If you move forward with supported self-help, we’ll invite you to a 40-minute session to discuss in more detail what support you’re looking for.

Each week we’ll call to check in on how you’re doing and give you any support you might need. We’ll also send you materials to help you understand and manage your feelings.

In your last session, together we’ll review how you’re feeling and talk about the ways the course has helped. We’ll talk about what’s next and if Mind can support you in any other ways.

Hear more about the supported self-help programme

In this video you can find out more about the programme, from local Mind practitioner Helen. You can also hear from Christian about the difference that supported self-help has made for him.