Accessing treatment and support during coronavirus

• Write down what you want to say in advance.
• If you’re feeling nervous, let your doctor know at the start of your conversation.
• Try to find a place in your house where you feel comfortable to speak. If you don't have privacy in your house, consider other spaces you could speak privately. For example, this could be in your car if you have one, or a local park if there is one nearby.
• If you feel comfortable talking to family or friends about how you feel, practise what you might say to your GP with them. You could also speak to a helpline to try this. 
• Bring any information you’ve found that helps to explain how you’re feeling.
• Think about what you want from your appointment, such as access to therapy.
• If you have a few things to talk about, you can ask for a longer appointment. You'll need to request this when you book the appointment.

See our page on talking to your GP for more tips on getting the most out of this conversation.

Before the session, try to talk to your therapist about:

• whether you can choose between a phone or video call, and which one you would prefer
• the confidentiality of your sessions. It's the responsibility of the therapist to ensure that any digital platform they use is secure
• what number you'll be called from if you're having your session by phone
• who will re-start the call if you lose connection. This can be common, but usually only lasts for a short amount of time
• any other worries you have about the session. Remember that your therapist may be getting used to working in this new way as well.

If you're unsure about how to use video calling technology, ask a friend, family member or someone else you trust to help set this up. Age UK has a guide to using video calls, which may also help.

If you can, try to find a place where you won't be disturbed. If you’re worried about being heard by people around you, you could try using headphones for the session.

You might also find it useful to turn off any digital notifications, such as emails or text messages, to avoid getting distracted.

For example, you could hold a comforting object or take a moment to focus on your breathing.

Your session may bring up difficult emotions. To help manage this you could try a relaxing activity before going back to your usual routine. For example, this could be listening to your favourite piece of music.

You may want to let someone you trust know that you're having the session, so they can check in with you afterwards.

It can take time to build trust and feel comfortable with a therapist. This could feel even more difficult when you're not seeing them face-to-face.

Try to be kind to yourself if it takes time to get used to having therapy in this way. And remember that you may be able to have face-to-face sessions again in the future. 

If you're not sure whether therapy or counselling is right for you, see our information on what to do if your therapy isn’t helping.

If you have regular appointments related to your medication, it's important to keep attending these unless you are told otherwise. For example, this could be to have depot injections to take your medication, or to have blood tests to check that your dose is correct.

You can speak to your doctor if you're worried about attending these appointments, or if you need to stay in your home because you are self-isolating.

Ordering repeat prescriptions

You might be able to order repeat prescriptions by phone. Or you may be able to do this online using an app or website, if your GP surgery offers this.

You could download the free NHS App and search for your surgery, although some surgeries aren't on the app yet. The NHS Health at Home website also has information about accessing NHS services from home, including ordering repeat prescriptions.

Paying for prescriptions

The NHS has information about paying for prescriptions. This includes information about whether you are entitled to free prescriptions, or help with paying for your prescriptions.

You can ask your pharmacy about getting your medication delivered, or someone else collecting it for you. This will usually be possible, although if it's a controlled drug the pharmacy might ask for proof of identity. Make sure anyone collecting your medication knows if they have to pay for it.

The NHS has more information about getting prescriptions for someone else and checking if you have to pay for prescriptions.

It's important to be careful about buying medication online. You should only buy from registered pharmacies. You can check if a pharmacy is registered on the General Pharmaceutical Council website.

See our page on buying medication online for more information. You can also contact NHS 111 in England or NHS 111 Wales if you're worried about accessing medication.

• You should let your local authority and care provider know if you have to self-isolate.
• Make it clear that any support is still needed. Tell them that alternative arrangements are required if any of the usual support can't continue. This may include things like carers visiting, day centre sessions, or friends and family coming over to help.
• Your local authority should have policies for this situation and should tell you how they can meet your needs.

• If you receive direct payments, these should continue during the coronavirus pandemic.
• You may need to plan for any times or circumstances when you can't use your payments in the normal way. For example, if your usual personal assistant has coronavirus symptoms and can't visit you. 
• If you can't use your direct payments in the usual way, or if you have new care needs, you should let your local authority know. They should have policies for this situation and should tell you how they can meet your needs.

Carers UK has lots of information on providing care to someone else during coronavirus.

This includes guidance on:

• providing care for someone who is staying at home
• what to do if you start to have symptoms of coronavirus
• making a plan for your caring responsibilities during this time, for example in case you become ill.

If you provide care to someone you don't live with and you need to self-isolate, you should contact your local authority.

During the coronavirus pandemic, some face-to-face peer support may not be available. This could be either one-on-one sessions or peer support groups.

You may find this difficult if face-to-face sessions are helpful for your mental health. But there are other ways you can find peer support during the pandemic.

Joining an online peer support group could give you the chance to share your experiences with people who can listen and understand. Mind runs an online peer support community where you can share your experiences and hear from others.

If you're going online more than usual or seeking peer support on the internet, it's important to look after your online wellbeing. See our pages about online mental health for more information.

“I always think talking with people in the same position as you, always helps you feel you are not alone and that in itself helps you feel much better…”

If you need to talk to someone right now, there are many helplines and listening services you can call. These helplines have trained staff who are ready to listen. They won't judge you and could help you make sense of what you're feeling.

Mind's Infoline provides an information and signposting service via phone, email, text and webchat. If you'd prefer not to speak over the phone, Shout offers a text support service which you could try.

Our coronavirus useful contacts page provides links to many organisations who can help. Or see our page on helplines and listening services for lots of other options.

Many local Minds provide face-to-face support and services for mental health across England and Wales.

You may find that some face-to-face services aren't available during the coronavirus pandemic. Or they may feel different to how they used to be. Many local Minds will also have have telephone helplines and online services available, if you can't access face-to-face support.

See our list of local Minds or call our Infoline to find a local Mind near you, and information about what services they provide.