Treatment options

CBT is a structured talking therapy that helps treat many problems, including:

• Low or depressed mood
• Stress
• Anxiety or excessive worry
• Phobias
• Difficulties following a traumatic experience
• Panic attacks
• Obsessive thoughts and behaviours
• Anxiety, stress or low mood linked to a long-term medical condition

CBT is based on the idea that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are connected, and that negative thoughts and feelings create more negative thoughts and feelings. CBT aims to help you deal with difficult problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts. Your therapist will show you how to change these negative patterns to improve how you feel. This approach focuses mainly on your current problems, rather than issues from your past.

This approach is a talking therapy based on CBT and aims to support people with mild-to-moderate anxiety, depression or stress. You will learn techniques to help you better manage your problems and put these into practice in your everyday life. It will happen during 4–6 weekly therapy sessions and is offered by one of our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners.

We offer online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for anxiety, depression and stress through a programme called SilverCloud. SilverCloud contains digital self-help courses for working through your problems. You’ll agree a plan with your therapist, and they will support you with your progress weekly.

Our group workshops are based on CBT and are provided at different locations across the borough throughout the week. They cover a range of issues, including low mood and depression, anxiety and stress. Here we can help you develop skills to understand and manage your difficulties in a supportive environment where you can learn from others with similar problems.

This is a talking therapy where you can discuss your feelings, choices and behaviour to help resolve emotional issues and distress. Counselling is less structured than CBT and may involve discussing past relationships and events which could be related to your current problems. This can help with adjustment to major life changes such as job loss, parenthood or family problems. It is offered in six sessions either in-person at locations across the borough, or by phone or video call.

People with long-term physical health conditions often suffer from stress, anxiety or low mood. We know it can be difficult to manage a long-term condition, especially if you’re also struggling with anxiety or low mood. We offer specialised support to help you with this.

MBCT is a group course that teaches a range of meditation practices and cognitive therapy techniques. This course can be offered as a treatment for depression or as relapse prevention for people who have had depression. MBCT can help by strengthening our ability to:

1. notice when we are caught up in unhelpful thoughts
2. let these thoughts go and bring our attention back to the present moment, and
3. relate to ourselves and our experience with greater gentleness and kindness. 

Employment Advisors are specialists available across the service to support you with issues relating to your employment. Anyone receiving support from our service can be referred to an Employment Advisor by their therapist. They might help you with returning to work after being off due to mental health difficulties, or help you to stay in work. Alternatively, Employment Advisors can provide information, advice and guidance on looking for work and finding paid employment.