NHS talking therapies

Talking therapies, or psychological therapies, are effective and confidential treatments delivered by fully trained and accredited NHS practitioners.

What are talking therapies?

Talking therapies can help with common mental health problems like stress, anxiety and depression. Which therapy you are offered depends on which one has been shown to be most helpful for your symptoms.

Here are a few examples:

• Guided self-help – where a therapist coaches you as you work through a self-help course in your own time, either using a workbook or an online course.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, what we do, and how our bodies feel physically, are all connected. CBT works to help us notice and challenge patterns of thoughts or behaviours so we can feel better.
• Counselling for depression – a type of counselling developed for people with depression.

Talking therapies are offered in different ways, including:

• using a self-help workbook with the support of a therapist
• as an online course
• one-to-one in person, over the phone or through video consultation
• in a group

 

You can access talking therapies for free on the NHS.

You can refer yourself directly to an NHS talking therapies service without a referral from a GP, or a GP can refer you.

NHS talking therapies services are also known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services.

 

Use this link to see how to self refer to NHS Talking Therapies:

NHS talking therapies - NHS (www.nhs.uk)