Welcome to NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Talking Therapies

NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Talking Therapies is delivered by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, the main provider of mental health and learning disability services across the two counties.

Talking Therapies provides a range of free, confidential support to people aged 16 and over across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. This includes: 

We can also help you find and access a variety of groups, courses and activities delivered by voluntary, charity and social enterprise providers that can support your physical and mental wellbeing. Our self-help guides are designed to help you understand how you are feeling, and cover a wide range of topics such as depression, anxiety and stress. 

If you are experiencing something that makes you feel unsafe, distressed, or worried about your mental health, you can now contact the Herefordshire and Worcestershire 24 hour urgent mental health helpline by calling NHS 111 and selecting the mental health option.

Making our services accessible for all

At Herefordshire and Worcestershire NHS Talking Therapies, we are committed to making our service accessible and pursuing equality within mental health care. We know that some people face barriers when accessing mental health services, and we aim to work with our service users to overcome these barriers:

Accessibility

  • Accessibility information for many of our sites and buildings can be accessed via the AccessAble website. The guides include lots of useful information including where to park, getting around the building and the location of accessible toilets.
  • Many of our wellbeing and self help support guides have been produced in alternative and accessible formats. These can be accessed via the resource section of the website.
  • If you have a communication or information support need please let us know.  We can provide information in a range of different formats, including braille, large text and easy read, and also have an interpreting and translation service available to patients and their carers. More information on this is available on the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust website.

Adaptations

You may feel that certain things are required for you to use our service comfortably. Everyone is different but below we have listed some examples of the adaptations we make on a regular basis:

Things we can do:

  • We can provide large font, braille, and easy-read documents
  • We can provide a professional interpreter/translator
  • You may prefer to work with a clinician of a certain gender and we can provide this
  • Sessions can be longer or shorter if needed, and you can have rest breaks
  • If you find our sessions contain too much information, then we’ll work with you to make the sessions suit you.

Things you can do

  • You may want to record your session to refer back to
  • Not use, or reduce eye contact if this is something that you find difficult
  • You can bring a family member or friend with you if that is helpful
  • You may want to discuss how your cultural background or religion is important to your understanding of your wellbeing
  • You can wear glasses if the room is too bright, or wear earplugs or headphones if you need to reduce background noise
  • You can use fidget toys, sit on the floor or move about during your session if that helps you to concentrate
  • If you have a health passport, you may like to bring one with you, or we can send you one to complete ahead of session.

If you feel any adaptations are necessary, please indicate this when completing your self-referral form at the appropriate point or mention to your GP if they are referring you. This will help us establish any necessary adaptations from your first appointment where possible. We will also ask about barriers in your initial assessment, and we welcome you to discuss it with us then.

Any changes that we make can be reviewed throughout treatment if you feel that there is something else that we need to know.

All of our staff receive training and access to guidance on supporting a diverse range of individuals and helping everyone in a respectful and person-centered way.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Champion

We have an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Champion, who works closely with the broader Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team to align our work with the Trust values. 

If you have any queries, you can contact them at whcnhs.webelong@nhs.net with the subject line ‘Talking Therapies EDI’.

Learning styles

If you can, we would like you to tell us how you learn best as this will help us to tailor your treatment to your individual needs. For example, you may prefer visual to audio resources or wish to make notes to refer back to. Please speak to the clinicians involved in your care for more information.

Our commitment and expectations

What you can expect from us

  • Our team are trained and supervised in evidence based therapies as recommended in NICE guidance to ensure you receive the highest quality of care.
  • We will work with you to help you achieve your goals around your mental health.
  • We will review your commitment to making changes if you do not seem ready.
  • We are obliged to keep you and others safe. Therefore, there may be occasions when we need to share information with other services or agencies.
  • If your difficulty requires treatment we do not offer we will suggest alternative organisations or refer you on to the appropriate service.
  • We offer help and support to persons of all faiths and none. We help everyone with equality and diversity; regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, disability or gender.

What we expect from you

  • Only refer yourself to Talking Therapies if you are able to wait for treatment and do not have an mental health emergency.  There are other services for people with more urgent needs, and you can find out more about how to access them on our Urgent Support page.
  • Making progress in therapy requires regular attendance, and it is important that you attend all scheduled sessions in order that you benefit from therapy.
  • To get the most from therapy you will need to attend regular appointments and be willing to make changes.
  • Tell us as soon as possible if you are unable to attend any of your appointments.
  • If you attend your session via video call, or over the telephone, please ensure you are in a confidential space on your own, that is noise, distraction, and interruption free.
  • If things should get worse for you while waiting for treatment from the service please refer to the guidance on the urgent help page.

NHS Talking Therapies, for anxiety and depression – the new name for Healthy Minds

Healthy Minds in Herefordshire and Worcestershire is changing it's name to NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Talking Therapies as part of a national rebranding exercise that will see all Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services using the same name across the country.

Following an extensive national consultation process, NHS Talking Therapies has been voted the most accessible name, and the easiest one to understand, by a wide range of staff, charities, patients and the general public. It will be accompanied with a tagline ‘for anxiety and depression’ to clarify what conditions our therapies aim to treat.

Our name might be changing but our service stays the same. We are still here for your mental health. This change doesn’t affect our teams or the care they provide you with.

Throughout 2023 we are progressively updating all our channels, including our websites and future communications from our services will come from NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Talking Therapies.

If you have any queries relating to this change, please speak to the clinican providing your care or visit the NHS England website which hosts more information on this change.

Now We're Talking

Our ambition to make Herefordshire and Worcestershire the most supportive mental health counties.

Now We're Talking is not a service, instead, it's the name of a local campaign that strives to bring together organisations from across Herefordshire and Worcestershire with the shared Now were talking campaign logo v ision of improving the awareness of local wellbeing and mental health support amongst our communities, and our ongoing commitment to challenge the stigma surrounding mental ill-health.     

Now We’re Talking campaign was launched in 2018 and brings together organisations from across Herefordshire and Worcestershire to raise awareness of mental health and the range of support available locally. We work together with other NHS and healthcare services, councils and local authorities, charities and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector on projects that promote local support and ensure our communities know where to go for help when they need it.

In opening the conversation about mental health and the importance of reaching out for help when you need it, the campaign hopes to also reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.Find out more about the Now We're Talking campaign.