We offer remote appointments via video or telephone. We also offer face to face appointments across a number of locations throughout Blackpool/Cleveleys area.

When you have your welcome call with us, you can discuss any appointment preference you may have with your practitioner, the most clinically appropriate and safe option will be offered taking into account your preference.

Whilst we offer face-to-face therapy in a range of clinic settings across the Blackpool/Cleveleys area, we do not offer all our intervention types in every venue.  As far as possible we try to take into account where people live when allocating appointments however, we cannot guarantee your appointment will be close to your home and it may be necessary for you to travel to a venue across the Blackpool/Cleveleys area.

You can request specific appointment days, times or preferred locations, however the service can not guarentee we will be able to meet these requests as we do not have clinicians trained in all modalitles of treamtent in all locations every day. We do offer a small number of appointments outside 9-5. Please be aware that requesting specific times,days or locations may result in a longer wait time, so we encourage you to be as flexible as you can to enable you to access the support you need as quickly as possible.

When you call in to self-refer, you will be allocated an appointment for your initial welcome and assessment call and the wait for this appointment is usually two weeks.

The waiting times for each type of therapy changes depending on the current demand, your Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner will be able to give you an estimated waiting time when you have your welcome call.

In the meantime, for online support you can visit Togetherall, an award-winning digital mental health service available at www.togetherall.com. It offers 24/7 support, with trained clinicians online at all times, as well as a range of helpful tools and resources which you can work through at your own pace.

Following your welcome and assessment call, if Blackpool Talking Therapies isn’t the right service to meet your needs, we will discuss this with you and we can signpost or make a referral to another more appropriate service.  This may include passing on the information gathered in the welcome and assessment call.  We will then send an assessment outcome letter to you outlining this and a copy will be sent to your GP so they are kept informed of the details of your care. We can also provide information about local services that you may benefit from engaging with.

We aim to work collaboratively and if suitable to offer you your preferred treatment.  Our service provides evidence-based treatments as outlined in NICE Guidelines (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and these guidelines suggest certain types of treatment should be offered for certain problems, and these also have to be considered when allocating the most appropriate treatment.  We will always engage you in discussions around your care and treatment options to ensure you have the information necessary to make informed decisions about your care.

Guided Self-Help is a treatment for depression and a range of anxiety disorders recommended by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).  It is based on CBT approaches and is delivered by trained Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs). You will get support to understand your current difficulties, how they are affecting you and will have a chance to learn techniques to change unhelpful thoughts and unhelpful behaviours that are maintaining your current difficulties. Part of this treatment will involve using a range of self-help materials and completing homework tasks between sessions. The aim of this is to give you a toolkit of coping strategies and helping you to become your own therapist to prevent future setbacks. This treatment will be tailored to your individual needs and directed towards your own personal goals. If you have had no previous therapeutic intervention and your problems have developed recently or are mild to moderate it is likely you will be offered this treatment.

No, you will not be asked to speak at any point during the sessions. Stress Control is not interactive and is based on classroom style learning, focused on listening to the facilitator rather than talking about your problems. This is because a lot of people find it difficult to speak out in groups when they are anxious, or do not want to talk about their problems at all. You will be given hand outs and booklets with information in to help you remember what is discussed during the sessions.

Give us a call on 01253 955700 and leave a message with your name, number and which group you were due to attend, or email bfwh.talkingtherapies@nhs.net with this information. Someone will call you to discuss alternative treatment options with you.

There are several differences between these two approaches.  CBT looks at the link between our thoughts, how we feel, our actions and our physical symptoms.  It is recommended for treatment of both depression and a range of anxiety disorders.  Part of this treatment will include completing between session tasks.  CBT sessions are between 60-90 minutes in length depending on what is being treated and you will usually receive up to 12 treatment sessions, the number of sessions will be agreed with your Therapist when you meet.

Counselling is a recommended treatment for depression and provides an opportunity to talk to someone in a safe and confidential space, about experiences or issues that may be affecting your mental health and emotional wellbeing. Our therapists are trained in different approaches, offering a wide range of therapeutic interventions, to help you make sense of what is going on. The difficulties you are experiencing may also affect relationships with important people in your lives, and when these are expressed in therapy things can become easier to understand.

Counselling sessions last one hour and the number of sessions will be agreed with your Therapist when you meet.

You may experience an increase in distress initially and this is common. This could occur due to a number of factors, such as talking about distressing life events in a therapy session, or making changes to how you currently manage your difficulties. Your Therapist will discuss this with you as part of your therapy. Please try to persevere with this distress and talk to your Therapist, as this is often a short term increase which can occur prior to any reduction in distress.

We do accept 'guided' (supported) self-referrals so you are welcome to ask someone to call on your behalf, but you must be present when they call us to make the referral.  If you feel unable to complete an assessment over the telephone and would prefer a face to face assessment, please let us know when you refer and we will arrange this for you. This may involve our admin team calling you back to confirm details of the appointment.

Yes. On completion of the welcome and assessment call you will be sent a letter which will include brief information related to your difficulties and which treatment has been agreed with you. A copy of this letter will be sent to your GP so they are aware you are engaging with our service. We will also send you a discharge letter once your treatment has ended and this will include an overview of your treatment and reason for discharge. A copy of this letter is also sent to your GP so they are aware you are no longer engaging with our service.

No, we are unable to prescribe any medications and advise you to make an appointment with your GP for this. We are able to provide information related to medication management, but this is in relation to managing any medication prescribed by your GP to ensure you are taking it appropriately, or to give you information if you are considering taking medication.

No. If you have been prescribed medication to treat your anxiety or depression by your GP you should continue to take this as directed. Many people who engage in psychological therapies are also prescribed medication.  If you are considering coming off a medication you can discuss this with your Therapist, however prior to making any changes to your compliance with prescribed medications we would advise you to speak to your GP as some medications should be reduced slowly over several weeks.