Crisis services and planning for a crisis
This guide explains what mental health crisis services are available, how they can help and when to access them. It also explains how you can plan for a crisis. If you're feeling in crisis right now, see our emergency advice.
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What are crisis houses?
Crisis houses offer intensive, short-term support to help you manage a mental health crisis in a residential setting, rather than in a hospital.
This page covers:
How can I access it?
Crisis houses might be run by the NHS, independent organisations such as charities, or both of these together – so they're often free to use. If you find a private crisis house you want to access, it's best to check if there are any costs involved.
To use a crisis house, you'll usually need to be referred by a mental health professional, although some let you refer yourself. The staff will also need to assess you, to make sure it's the right place to help you.
When assessing you, they might consider:
- the length of stay you'll need
- the type of mental health crisis you're experiencing
- your willingness to keep to their house rules (such as rules about drug use or how you behave towards other residents)
- your background – some crisis houses are set up to help specific groups (such as women or people who are also struggling with drug addiction).
Crisis house support [was] relatively helpful, and was there 24/7. Unfortunately [where I went] you can only stop 14 days.
Is there a crisis house or sanctuary near me?
We've listed some details of crisis houses and sanctuaries. Unfortunately there are a very limited number around England and Wales, and there might not be one near you – but this isn't an exhaustive list and you may be able to find others we haven't included.
This list covers:
- Multiple locations
- Birmingham and Solihull
- Bradford
- Brighton
- Bristol
- Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
- Derbyshire
- Dorset
- Exeter
- Hastings, Rother and Eastbourne
- Hertfordshire
- Hull
- Lancashire
- Leeds
- Leicester
- Lincolnshire
- London
- Manchester
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Newport
- Norfolk
- Northamptonshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Staffordshire
- Surrey
- Sussex
- Wiltshire
- Winchester
Multiple locations
- Rethink Mental Illness – offers a number of crisis houses in certain parts of the country. To find out more, their website has a list of crisis houses in different areas, or you can call their information line on 0300 5000 927 (open from 9.30am–4pm on weekdays, excluding bank holidays) or ask to get information by email.
Birmingham and Solihull
- Birmingham and Solihull NHS mental health crisis services – there are several crisis houses in this area. You need to be referred by the mental health service's home treatment teams and assertive outreach teams.
Bradford
- The Cellar Trust safe spaces – provides urgent, same day support for people experiencing a mental health crisis. Young people (ages 7 to 17) can stay overnight, while adults (aged over 18) can find daytime support. Contact 0800 952 1181 or 08001 884 884 and ask for 'safe spaces' to get an appointment.
Brighton
- Shore House – provides support to people in a mental health crisis. You must be referred by the Mental Health Rapid Response Service.
Bristol
- Bristol Sanctuary – non-residential service open from 5pm to 12am on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. To find out more, email [email protected].
- Women's Crisis House (Link House) – residential crisis house, for women only. A healthcare professional can refer you to this service.
Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
- Linden House – based in Cardiff and open to residents of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Offers a therapeutic alternative to hospital for people who are experiencing distress or crisis. Referrals can only be made through the Cardiff and the Vale Crisis Team.
Derbyshire
- Trevayler Crisis House – short-term residential support for people in mental health crisis. You need to be referred to this service by a crisis resolution and home treatment team.
Exeter
- Redhills House – short-term accommodation for people in mental health crisis. The Exeter, east and mid-Devon home treatment team can assess whether to refer you to this service.
Hastings, Rother and Eastbourne
- Hastings Sanctuary Service – community-based mental health crisis unit. You need to be referred by a mental health professional.
Hertfordshire
- Nightlight Crisis House – provides short-term, overnight accommodation in Hemel Hempstead for people in mental health crisis. You can call this service on 01923 256391 (option 3) to speak to the team about referring yourself. Or you can be referred by your GP or mental health team.
Hull
- The Crisis Pad – non-residential, overnight safe space for people experiencing a mental health crisis. Contact the Humber NHS trust's mental health advice and support line on 0800 138 0990 to ask about referral to this service.
Lancashire
- Oak House – offers short-term placements in Burnley for people experiencing mental health crisis. Referrals must come from the Burnley and Pendle home treatment team.
- Willow House – crisis house in Coppull, central Lancashire offering short-term placements for mental health crisis. You can speak to your GP about referral to this services, or call Willow House on 0330 008 3677.
Leeds
- Dial House – non-residential service, open from 6pm–2am on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. To refer yourself, call 0113 260 9328 on the night you wish to request a visit or text 07922 249 452. You can also email [email protected].
Leicester
- Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Crisis House – offers short-term residential crisis support. You can contact them by calling 0116 210 4510.
Lincolnshire
- Witham Bank – residential mental health service in Boston. You must be referred by the Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust Crisis Resolution and Home treatment team.
- White Gables – residential mental health service in Lincoln. You must be referred by the Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust Crisis Resolution and Home treatment team.
London
- Amadeus Recovery House – supports people experiencing a mental health crisis, as an alternative to hospital admission. You must be referred by the Ealing Crisis, Assessment and treatment team.
- Barnet Crisis Prevention House – short-term support for people in crisis in Barnet. You can be referred via your GP or crisis team. Or you can self-refer by contacting 020 8702 4515.
- Drayton Park Women's Crisis Centre – residential crisis house that accepts self-referrals from women living in Camden and Islington. To contact the centre, you can call them on 020 7607 2777.
- Haringey Crisis Prevention House – short-term support for people in crisis in Haringey. Your GP or crisis team can refer you to this service. Or you can self-refer by calling 020 8213 7777.
- Hillingdon Crisis House – provides support for people facing a mental health or social crisis. Referrals must be made by the Central and North West London Trust's home treatment team for Hillingdon residents.
- Islington Crisis House – service for people experiencing complex mental health needs, including personality disorders, substance misuse and self-harm. Referrals must be made via the home treatment team.
- Maytree Suicide Respite Centre – residential crisis house, which accepts self-referrals. To contact them, you can call 020 7263 7070 or email [email protected].
- North Camden Crisis House – provide support for adults experiencing a mental health crisis. You can be referred through your GP, community mental health team or self-refer. You can contact them at [email protected]
or 020 3317 6300. - The Rivers – provide support for adults experiencing a mental health crisis in Camden and Islington borough. Contact them at [email protected] or 020 3317 6860.
- Tower Hamlets Crisis House – crisis house provided by Look Ahead and East London NHS Foundation Trust. Provides crisis support for people experiencing complex mental health needs, including personality disorders, substance misuse and self-harm. Referrals must be made via the home treatment team.
Manchester
- Manchester Crisis Point – short-term residential mental health service for people suffering mental distress aged 18 and over and living in Manchester. Contact the service on 0161 238 5149 for more information.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Mental health rehabilitation and crisis flats – flats provided by Newcastle city council to support people experiencing mental health crisis. You'll need to be referred by a crisis home resolution team or care coordinators.
Newport
- Ty Cynnal – short-term crisis house for anyone in mental health crisis. You need to be referred to this service by crisis resolution and home treatment teams in Newport, Torfaen or Caerphilly.
Norfolk
- Holly Tree House – short-stay recovery house from Norfolk and Waveney Mind, providing a safe environment for people in mental health crisis. You need to be referred by a crisis resolution home team to access this service.
Northamptonshire
- The Warren and The Martins – NHS crisis houses in Northampton and Rushden, providing a safe environment for adults in a mental health crisis. You can only access this service by referral from a healthcare professional.
Nottinghamshire
- Haven House – offers residential support for up to 7 days if you're experiencing a mental health crisis. You must be referred by City and County South Enhanced Crisis Resolution Home Treatment team (ECRHT).
- Nottinghamshire Crisis Sanctuaries – non-residential mental health sanctuaries in 4 locations around Nottinghamshire. You can refer yourself to these services by calling 0330 822 4100, or travel to any of the services in person.
Staffordshire
- Cannock Brendan House – short-term crisis house in Cannock, providing support to people in mental health crisis. Referral to this service can from from mental health professionals, social workers, GPs or community day service managers.
Surrey
- Crisis overnight support service – short-term, overnight accommodation for people experiencing a mental health crisis. This service can only be accessed via referral from home treatment teams.
Sussex
- Staying Well – out-of-hours crisis prevention service in Worthing, from West Sussex Mind. Offers a safe alternative for people in crisis who might otherwise go to A&E. Available at evenings and weekends. You will need to pre-arrange your visit on the day you hope to attend. You can arrange your visit by calling Staying Well on 01903 268107 or emailing [email protected].
Wiltshire
- Hope House – short-term residential service in Chippenham to support people in mental health crisis. You must be referred to this service by mental health intensive support team.
Winchester
- The Lookout – short-term supported accommodation for for adults who need mental health support. You must be referred by your GP, a wellbeing centre or community mental health team, via a crisis resolution at home treatment team.
This information was published in October 2018.
This page is currently under review. All content was accurate when published.
References and bibliography available on request.
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