Mental Health Professionals Here To Help During Festive Period

The Christmas and New Year period can be a stressful and difficult time for many and there are a number of mental health services available across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight that are available 24 hours a day to provide professional support for anyone who needs it.

Sara, 34 from Southampton contacted the 111 team when she felt that her medication was making her feel worse and she was considering taking her own life. Sara said:

“I completed the online form and thought nothing more of it until my phone rang, then I spoke to a nurse who didn’t make me feel dismissed or stupid, she treated me like a human being and listened to me.

“She helped me calm down by doing some breathing exercises with me which I didn’t think would help but really did as we did them together and then gave me the information for something called the lighthouse.”

“The call was really helpful, and the lady listened when no one else could.”

NHS 111 mental health triage

The NHS111 mental health triage team provides mental health support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to people of all ages across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The triage team has a wide range of skills including on the phone psychological intervention which allows you to receive the care you need in the comfort of your own home.

The service ensures that people have easy access to support at the right time, and in the right place for them, including enabling people to get mental health support before a problem becomes a crisis.

You can contact the NHS111 mental health triage team by visiting 111 online, or by calling 111 and selecting option 2.

Ben, 22 from the New Forest had always struggled with his mental health.

He was told about NHS111 by a friend and one night when he was considering taking his own life, he decided to make that call.

Ben said:

“I didn’t have anyone to call to help me, it was 1am and everyone I knew would have been asleep I didn’t want to disturb anyone as this wasn’t their problem. Then I remembered NHS111.

“I received a call back really quickly. This guy introduced himself, and asked me how I was doing, it was a breath of fresh air we chatted like we were old friends. I started the call with a razor blade cutting into my hands feeling really frustrated with myself.

“We chatted for what felt like hours, but it was probably only about 20 minutes or so, and not once did I feel like I was being rushed off the phone. I came off the phone laughing.”

Shout text service

Anyone in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight can text 'HANTS' to 85258 to speak by text with one of Shout's trained volunteers. Shout is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope. It won’t show up on your phone bill.

NHS Talking Therapies (previously iTalk)

Talking Therapies is a service for adults in Hampshire and IOW. Talking Therapies offers a wide range of treatments, in a wide range of formats, and offers support with everyday wellbeing as well as diagnosed common mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD and PTSD.

You can access Talking Therapies via this link.

Kooth

Kooth is an online counselling and emotional well-being support service providing young people aged 11-25 years (up to their 26th birthday) with a safe and secure means of accessing support with their emotional health and wellbeing needs from a professional team of qualified counsellors.

Safe Havens

There are a number of Safe Havens across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight which provides emotional and practical support to adults experiencing a mental health crisis. You can get support from staff and volunteers by telephone, email, text or face to face during evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

A Safe Haven can be found in Newport.

Further information including addresses and opening times can be found here.

Further details about services available across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight can be found here: Help in a crisis

If it is an emergency and your life is in danger please dial 999.