Frequently Asked Questions

+ Is the Wellbeing Service right for me?

Yes, if you are experiencing mild to moderate difficulties with your mental health, such as low mood, anxiety, stress or worry, and you are...

• Ready to make changes in your life
• Wanting to build on your strengths and learn new coping skills

If you are aged 4-17, or making a referral on behalf of a child or young person, click here to read about what the Wellbeing Service can and cannot do.

+ Do I need to be registered with a Brighton & Hove GP to access this service?

The service is available to people registered with a local GP practice or living in Brighton and Hove. If you are not registered with a Brighton & Hove GP, we will require confirmation that you are residing in the area (BN1, BN2, BN3 or BN41 postcodes).

+ How do I refer into this Service?

Anyone can refer themselves (or a child or young person, with their consent) into the Wellbeing Service using our online referral forms:

• To refer someone aged 4-17 find referral forms here
• To refer someone aged 18+ find referral forms here

If you can’t complete an online form, or would like to discuss your potential referral, or if you need any extra support such as large print or translated forms, a language or British Sign Language interpreter, or an accessible room, you can either:

• Book an appointment with your GP
• Call us directly on 0300 002 0060 (weekdays 9am–5pm)
• Email us at spft.bhwellbeing@nhs.net

+ What happens when I refer myself to the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service?

When we receive your referral a member of our clinical team will assess your suitability.

If your referral is accepted, we will usually offer you an initial appointment. You will either receive an SMS with a link to book an appointment online or a member of our admin team will give you a call to book in a preferred date and time. The SMS you receive will come from 'Wellbeing'. If we call you it is likely to be from a withheld number.

If you are referred by your GP, we will send you a referral acknowledgement letter within 10 working days to let you know we have accepted your referral and provide details of next steps.

+ How long will my initial assessment last?

Your first appointment no more than 60 minutes long, usually lasting around 30-45 minutes. We will confirm these details with you when we make contact with you.

+ How will the assessment help me?

You will be able to talk through the issues you feel are important, and be listened to without prejudice.

You will be given advice on next steps and have a chance to explore what support might be most helpful for you.

You may be offered a range of treatment options including educational courses, telephone sessions or online support.

+ Will anyone else need to know I am using the service?

When we call you, we will always ask you to identify yourself (this will usually involve us asking for you to confirm your date of birth and first line of your address). We will not disclose any information about the nature of our calls until we are confident that we are speaking to you rather than a third party.

We normally send a copy of any letters you receive to your GP, for your medical records. Please let us know if you do not want us to share this information with your Doctor.

+ What do I do if I would like someone else to speak on my behalf?

You can let us know if you would like someone else to speak on your behalf, and specify what actions that person can take in relation to your care (such as appointment booking). We will add a note to your record so that we don’t need to ask you to give this consent each time we speak to them.

+ What if I can’t attend my assessment?

If you booked your initial assessment via the online portal, please click here to read our guidance on re-arranging your assessment online.

Otherwise, please call us on 0300 002 0060 to cancel or re-arrange your assessment, or email us at spft.bhwellbeing@nhs.net.

We appreciate you giving us as much advance notice as you are able; if you cancel your appointment with more than 24 hours’ notice we can usually offer the time to someone else who needs it.

+ What if I can’t attend a session?

Once you have started treatment, missed sessions may disrupt the process, so it is important to let your therapist know of any planned absences well in advance. Your therapist will do the same.

If you cannot make a session for any unplanned reason, please call 0300 002 0060 or email spft.bhwellbeing@nhs.net as soon as you are able. Our Admin team will inform your therapist right away.

Late cancellations could result in losing that session. If you consistently miss or cancel sessions, we may need to discharge you from the service. However, you will have the option of re-referring to the service when you have more time available.

+ How many sessions will I receive?

We offer a short-term model of support. After your initial assessment, you will receive 6 to 10 sessions. Each session lasts approximately 50 minutes and takes place weekly, on the same day and time (except for Systemic Family support which is generally fortnightly).

The consistency of the same day, time and place are very important for developing a trusting relationship between the practitioner and young person.

+ Will the Wellbeing Service make me feel better?

Although our CYP team are highly trained and skilled professionals, our treatments cannot offer a magic wand. You will likely not feel better instantly (sometimes people feel worse before they feel better) and treatments can sometimes feel like hard work - but you will not be working alone.

With the right attitude and commitment from you (as you will receive from your therapist) our treatments are very effective. The CYP team will never tell you to 'get over it' or 'pull yourself together'. Instead, they will help you to:

• Learn skills that fight that back against difficult thoughts
• Increase your self-awareness and learn new ways to handle your feelings
• Try out new behaviours.

+ What if I don’t know what to say in my sessions?

Sometimes it can be hard to find the words to describe what we’re thinking and feeling - the CYP team understands this. They will work with you at a pace that feels good for you, and might suggest alternative ways to help you relax, open up and find ways to express yourself, like doing activities, exercises, worksheets, doing art together, or even playing games.

+ What if I can't attend my assessment?

If you’re unable to attend your assessment, please let us know as soon as possible. You can reach our administration team by email at spft.bhwellbeing@nhs.net or by phone at 0300 002 0060.

Please note that missing your appointment without giving us prior notice could result in your referral being closed. If that happens and you still need support, you may need to re-refer to the service.

When we book assessments, we can generally offer two alternative appointment times to try to make it easier for you. If you’re unable to accept these times, we may need to close your referral and discharge you from the service. We want to make sure everyone can get the support they need, so if circumstances change, please let us know as soon as possible.

+ What if I am already getting support and can't come to a session?

If you need to cancel a session, please let us know as soon as possible - ideally at least 7 days in advance. We understand that things come up, so please speak to your counsellor/therapist during your session, letting them know of any upcoming cancellations. Or contact our administration team directly via: email spft.bhwellbeing@nhs.net or call 0300 002 0060.

If you cancel with less than 3 days’ notice, we may not be able to offer a replacement session. We want to make sure you get the support you need, so regular attendance is important. If you miss two sessions without telling us, we might assume you no longer want to continue and may need to close your referral.

If your counsellor or therapist has to cancel for any reason, we’ll let you know as soon as possible by phone, text, or email, and you won’t lose your session.

Keeping your contact details up to date is really important. If anything changes, please let your counsellor/therapist know or get in touch with our admin team so we can keep everything up to date.

+ What if I am running late to a session?

We ask that you try to be on time. If you are late, your session will still finish at the normal set time as your practitioner may have another session afterwards.

If you are more than 20 minutes late, the session might have to be cancelled.

+ Is my treatment confidential?

Information that you or your child shares about themselves or their family will be kept confidential within the service, and the specific content of treatment sessions is kept confidential between the therapist and child, in order to maintain trust within the therapeutic relationship.

Some of our treatments with younger clients (e.g. aged 4-10) such as Dramatherapy or Play Therapy include parent reviews at the start, end and mid-way point. General themes of the client's sessions may be discussed at these review meetings, but not specific details.

However, our team must and do need to "break confidentiality" by sharing disclosed information with their line manager, safeguarding officer and other professionals if they are concerned that their client, or any other person, is at risk of harm. The therapist would always try to discuss first with the young person who else they will need to talk to.

The limits of confidentiality, in accordance with safeguarding regulations, are explained to the child in a way that they can understand. Privacy statements regarding the storage of information will be given to you and your child (if appropriate) at the outset.