General Mental Health
Get Connected 0808 808 4994
Free helpline and webchat for young people under 25 who know they need help but don’t know where to find it.
Mind
Charity that provides information and advice, campaigns on mental health issues, and runs local services in many parts of England and Wales.
Rethink
Provides a range of services across England, including advocacy, carer support and talking treatments, and also runs a national telephone advice line.
SLaM National Services
NHS Trust which runs a number of specialist inpatient and outpatient mental health services that accept referrals from anywhere in the UK.
WPF Therapy
Charity which provides affordable counselling from a number of centres in southern England.
Youth Access
A directory of free counselling, information and advice services for young people across the UK.
University and Work-Based Services
If you’re a student, you should be able to access mental health support and counselling through your college or university. Contact your students’ union or look on your university’s website for details. Some employers, particularly larger ones, also provide counselling for employees; if you’d feel comfortable with this, it might be worth asking your HR department whether they offer this service.
Alcoholics Anonymous
12-step groups for people with a desire to stop drinking.
FRANK
Provides information about drug use and details of services.
Narcotics Anonymous
12-step groups for recovering addicts. There is only one requirement for membership: the desire to stop using.
Anxiety UK
Provides a range of services across the UK that can help you with your anxiety.
OCD Action
The largest UK charity focusing on obsessive compulsive disorders. Provides support and information to anybody affected by OCD.
National Autistic Society
Charity for people with autism (including Asperger syndrome) and their families. Provides information, support and services.
Al-Anon
12-step support groups for anyone whose life is, or has been, affected by someone else’s drinking.
Carers UK
Help, advice and support for carers.
Depression and Bipolar Disorder
Association for Post-Natal Illness
Provides support and information for people with postnatal depression and related problems.
Depression Alliance
Runs a network of self-help groups and other forms of support.
MDF The Bipolar Organisation
Runs self-help groups and provides information on self-management.
SADA
Support and information for people with seasonal affective disorder.
Beat
UK charity which provides information, help and support for people affected by an eating disorder.
Overeaters Anonymous
12-step groups for people who are recovering from or want to stop compulsive overeating, anorexia or bulimia.
Emergence
A service-user-led organisation supporting all people affected by personality disorder. (Formerly Borderline UK and Personality Plus.)
Cruse Bereavement Care
Provides a national helpline and face-to-face support in branches across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A similar service in Scotland is provided by Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland.
Relate
Relate offers advice, relationship counselling, sex therapy, workshops, mediation, consultations and support face-to-face, by phone and through their website.
Bristol Crisis Service for Women
A national organisation supporting women in emotional distress, particularly those who self-injure. Their website includes a listing of self-harm support groups and services that specialise in self-injury.
British Red Cross Skin Camouflage Service
Offers a free matching service for skin camouflage creams. They help you find the right shade for your skin and teach you how to apply the cream. GP referral needed.
National Self-Harm Network
Offers support, advice and advocacy services to people affected by self harm directly or in a care role.
SASH
A national penfriend network for survivors of abuse and self-harm.
SLaM Self-Harm Service (formerly Crisis Recovery Unit)
A specialist inpatient and outpatient NHS service for people who self-harm and whom other services have found difficult to help. They are based in London but accept referrals from throughout the UK.
Trauma, Abuse and Dissociation
First Person Plural
National (UK) survivor-led association for dissociative identity disorder and similar complex dissociative conditions. Information and mutual support.
NAPAC: The National Association for People Abused in Childhood
Runs a helpline and gives details of organisations for survivors around the UK.
Rape Crisis
Free counselling and support for people who have been raped, sexually assaulted or abused, no matter how long ago. Runs a national helpline and rape crisis centres around England and Wales; their website also links to the equivalent charities in Scotland and Ireland. Be aware that some centres only offer services to women.
SASH
A national penfriend network for survivors of abuse and self-harm.
