What is supported self-help?
Supported self-help is a free, 6-week guided programme. We give you the materials to understand and manage your feelings. And we call you regularly to give you 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.
Who is it for?
- You'll need to live in England or the Channel Islands and be over 18.
- 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.
- We don't care if your problem isn’t ‘serious’ enough. Mental health services often tell us our problems aren't serious enough for them to help. Supported self-help is a service for anyone who feels their emotions are getting on top of them.
- You don't need to have a diagnosed mental health problem 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.
Get in touch and we'll help you understand if supported self-help is right for you.
How does it work?
Once you've signed up, we'll get in touch to talk about the issues you're dealing with. 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. These might include:
- Explaining how and why we experience difficult emotions
- A thought diary
- Mindfulness techniques
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.
"My advisor, Mark from Mind Cardiff, put me at ease. It was nice to speak to someone who didn't know me and wouldn't just tell me what they thought I wanted to hear."
Read Gemma's blog about how supported self-help helped her with her anxiety.
How do I sign up?
Sign up for supported self-help by chatting with Limbic, our virtual referral assistant.
Limbic should have already popped up on your screen. If not, click the round button with a pink blob inside it. It's at the bottom right of your screen.
Limbic will walk you through the referral process, helping you understand if supported self-help is right for you.
It will take around 8 minutes to complete.
Does it work?
In a recent survey:
- The service was rated 9/10 by clients and nearly all would recommend it
- 85% of people said they had improvement in feelings of anxiety
- 86% felt improvement in feelings of depression
- 84% reported an improvement in their mental wellbeing
Hear more about our 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.
Got a question?
We're always happy to answer your questions. Get in touch with us at [email protected]
