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This page lists information about external resources and sources of support that you may find helpful.
1. Crisis Support
If you are in immediate crisis, for example if you think you may act on suicidal feelings or you have seriously harmed yourself or are thinking of seriously harming yourself:
- go to any hospital Accident & Emergency department and ask for help
- if you need to, you can call 999 and ask for an ambulance
- Contact Samaritans for free 24/7 telephone support: 116 123 (UK & ROI)
For other ways to contact Samaritans or to find out more about them see their website.
2. Urgent Support
If you need urgent support for your mental health but you don’t feel you need to go to A&E, there are a range of other services that offer support:
- Your GP surgery should be able to offer urgent / emergency appointments with the next available GP. All GP surgeries run their own system so please check your surgery’s appointment system. The GP can provide information and advice, make onward referrals or prescribe medication if necessary. Many GP surgeries also direct you to an out-of-hours service when they are closed.
- SANE runs a mental health helpline from 4:30pm to 10:30pm daily which offers specialist emotional support and information. To access this, call: 0300 304 7000
- Rethink Mental Illness have a number of helpline and advice services, which offer practical and emotional support and signposting to those experiencing severe mental illness, their carers and relatives. The Rethink Advice and Information Service (0300 5000 927) is open from 9.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday for practical advice on issues such as different types of therapy and medication; benefits, debt, money issues; police, courts, prison; your rights under the Mental Health Act.
Students: If you are a student -
Your university may have a Nightline listening and support service operated by other students. Check the Nightline website to see if your university has such a service.
If you are a student then your institution will usually have a student mental health service, details about which will be on your institution’s website, usually under ‘student support’ or ‘student wellbeing’.
The University Mental Health Advisers Network (UMHAN) has helpful information about rights, resources and broad support networks for students on their website.
3. Other Sources of Support and Information
A useful list of sources of support for a variety of different experiences, including mental health problems is available here.
Personal Therapy: You may feel it could be helpful to have therapy. As a mental health professional, you will be aware that there are lots of different types of therapies and ways of finding the right therapist for you, but you may find the following therapist directories helpful in identifying a therapist near you:
o https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/find-a-therapist/
o https://www.bpc.org.uk/find-a-therapist
o http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/therapists
o http://www.acat.me.uk/page/find+a+private+cat+therapist
o http://www.cbtregisteruk.com/Default.aspx
4. Support for Doctors and Medical Students
A number of services specifically for doctors, and in some cases medical students, have been set up:
The Doctors’ Support Network (DSN) provides confidential peer support for doctors and medical students who are experiencing mental health problems.
The DSN also provide a list of support services for doctors.
The NHS has a Practitioner Health Programme which is a free and confidential service for medical doctors and dentists experiencing physical or mental health problems or addiction.
DocHealth is a confidential psychotherapeutic consultation service based in London but open to all doctors across the UK on a self-referral basis. It is supported by the British Medical Association and the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund.
5. Peer support
HOP-MHP peer forum: We recognise that it can be difficult for mental health professionals to access peer support, particularly face-to-face. For the purposes of this project we have therefore established the HOP-MHP peer forum as a way of participants providing peer support to each other. If you are in the intervention arm of the HOP-MHP trial you should have received information on how to access the peer forum - for a reminder please contact us at hopproject@ucl.ac.uk.
Together UK provides a useful overview of the value of peer support, both informal and formal, and also lists peer support resources.
Mind provides information on the types of peer support available, including online support here.
6. Support in the Workplace
It may be useful to find out whether your employer offers any staff support schemes for employees with mental health problems, e.g. workplace counselling or services provided via Occupational Health. Occupational Health may also be able to assist with putting in place workplace adjustments if needed. The Department of Health offers advice for employers regarding workplace adjustments for mental health conditions, including practical examples, which you may wish to share with your employer.
Mindful Employer® is an NHS initiative designed to help employers access information and local support for staff who experience difficulties with stress, depression, anxiety and other mental health problems. Their website includes helpful information about how to look after yourself as an employee and a number of useful publications.
Mind provides helpful information about dealing with mental health in the workplace.
