NHS Talking Therapies - Self Referral
What are talking therapies?
Talking therapies can be very helpful if you are experiencing stress, low mood, depression or anxiety. Around one in five people suffer from anxiety or depression every year, and talking therapies provide people with support and treatment to overcome these difficulties.
Depending on your problem and where you live in the UK, you may be able to access:
- Consultation and advice.
- Courses, workshops and groups.
- Guided self-help.
- Individual counselling and psychological therapy.
What to expect with talking therapies
You can find out all about what to expect from talking therapy, how it works and how it might help you, from our leaflet called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
If you refer yourself for counselling, the next step will depend on where you live. You will often have an assessment with a counsellor first. This may be in person or over the phone. The counsellor will find out more about you and can advise you on which form of help would suit you best.
If you think you are depressed, it may be helpful if you fill in a questionnaire before you speak to the counsellor. This questionnaire, called the PHQ9, will give your therapist a better idea of what your problems are and what help you need. If asked to do this, you would complete the questionnaire which you can find here and keep a copy for your appointment.
Find out more
You can find lots of information about depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health disorders from our leaflets. You can also find advice on some ways of managing stress, loneliness and low mood, such as mindfulness.
The self-referral services on this page are not crisis services. If you need urgent help, you should contact your GP, go to your local A&E department or contact the Emergency Services by dialling 999.
If you are having thoughts of self-harm, you can find out more about help which is available and how you can help deal with these thoughts from our information leaflet called Suicidal Thoughts.
How do I self-refer?
You can refer yourself to your local talking therapy service using the links below if you know which city or Integrated Care Board (ICB) your GP practice is in.
If you are not sure which ICB your GP practice is in, you can find out by entering your practice's postcode in this tool.
Please be aware that self-referral is not available in every part of the UK. Please search the NHS website or contact your GP if you cannot find your area below, or if any of the links are not working.
Local NHS talking therapy services in England
Ashford Kent
Basildon and Brentwood Essex
Barking and Dagenham Essex
Barnet London
Barnsley Yorkshire
Bath Avon
Bexley London
Brent London
Bristol Avon
Bromley London
Calderdale West Yorkshire
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Camden and Islington London
Chorley and South Ribble Lancashire
Crawley, Sussex
Croydon Surrey/London
Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley, Kent
Ealing London
East Surrey or details of all local counselling service providers
Enfield London
Fylde and Wyre Lancashire
Guildford and Waverley ICB Surrey
Gloucestershire (or for services in South Gloucestershire see Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire)
Greater Preston Lancashire
Greenwich London
Hackney London
Hammersmith & Fulham London
Haringey London
Harrogate and Rural District Yorkshire
Harrow London
Havering London
Hillingdon London
Horsham, Sussex
Hounslow London
Kingston London
Kirklees (including Huddersfield) West Yorkshire
Lambeth London
Leeds Yorkshire
Leicester City Leicestershire
Lewisham London
Liverpool Merseyside
Medway Kent
Merton London
Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire
Morecambe Bay Lancashire
Newham London
Newcastle Tyne and Wear
Nottingham City Nottinghamshire
North East Hants and Farnham or details of all local counselling service providers
North West Surrey ICBs or details of all local counselling service providers
Redbridge London
Redditch and Bromsgrove Worcestershire
Richmond Surrey
Richmondshire Yorkshire
Scarborough and Ryedale Yorkshire
Sheffield Yorkshire
Somerset (or for services in North Somerset see Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire)
Southampton Hampshire
Southwark London
St Helens Merseyside
Surrey Downs or details of all local counselling service providers
Surrey Heath or details of all local counselling service providers
Sutton Surrey
Swale Kent
Telford and Wrekin Shropshire
Thurrock Essex
Tower Hamlets London
Vale of York Yorkshire
Waltham Forest London
Wandsworth London
Westminster London
Wirral Merseyside
Wolverhampton West Midlands
Wyre Forest Worcestershire
Mental health help in Scotland
Self-referral for talking therapy is not routinely available on the NHS in Scotland. However, there are options available for online self-help courses, support groups, befriending schemes and self help books.
The Scottish Association for Mental Health website has an email where you can enquire about local services, and details of several local services you can refer yourself to.
Breathing Space is a free telephone helpline offering help and support to anyone suffering from mental health problems. It is open from 6 pm-2 am Monday-Thursday and 6 pm Friday-6 am on Monday.
Mental health help in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, there is no IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) service. This means that there is no NHS self-referral option for talking therapies in Northern Ireland. All referral is through your GP.
OCD UK gives a useful summary of the pathway to follow for seeking help. Although this relates to help for OCD, the process is similar for patients with depression and anxiety, who would access counselling through self-referral in England.
Contact is a charity with an independent counselling service, based in Belfast. It aims to provide crisis counselling to anyone living in Northern Ireland.
The Counselling Directory also provides a list of private accredited counsellors and therapists.
Mental health help in Isle of Man
The Community Wellbeing Service in the Isle of Man offers a variety of treatment options for people with mental health problems.
Mental health help in Jersey
Jersey talking therapies offers free services to over 18s living in Jersey. However, it is not a self-referral service. You need to ask your GP or another mental healthcare professional to refer you.
While every effort is made to keep these details up to date, the company cannot be held responsible for links to NHS services. If you have any queries, please contact your GP surgery.
Further reading and references
What is CBT?; British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies