TalkingSpace Plus is holding its launch event today on the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Here is our press release for the event:
TalkingSpace Plus offers a range of talking therapies and wellbeing activities to people living with mild to moderate depression and anxiety in Oxfordshire.
It is a service delivered in partnership by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxfordshire Mind and Principal Medical Ltd.
The new TalkingSpace Plus service provides one point of access for people to receive cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling and other talking therapies, as well as wellbeing activites, all provided by the one service. In the past the services have been offered by three separately commissioned organisations.
June Dent, Clinical Lead for TalkingSpace Plus said:
“Last year TalkingSpace helped over 6,500 people struggling with anxiety and depression and this year, with our enhanced TalkingSpace Plus service, we plan to expand that to reach 9,000. We aim to help you get well and keep well.
“People tell us that we make a real difference – helping them to enjoy themselves, stop worrying, and get back to work. People have been helped to overcome obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, excessive worries, social anxieties and health anxieties. They have been able to recover fully from episodes of low mood, or of recurrent depression. Our wellbeing services help people maintain these improvements by connecting with others.
“Through providing a single point of access and working as a partnership we can offer an improved, joined-up service to people in Oxfordshire ensuring they receive the support they need in a very flexible way. We run classes in different locations and at different times of day, have computerised programmes and offer telephone support.
“We know it takes courage for some people to speak to their GP about how they are feeling. By enabling members of the public to come to our services directly via telephone, or by visiting our website we make it one step easier for them to get help.
“We help people of all ages and backgrounds, and can provide interpreters when necessary.
“Free and expert advice is available from TalkingSpace Plus. People can get in touch by calling 01865 901222, emailing talkingspaceplus@nhs.org.uk or looking at the website talkingspaceoxfordshire.org.uk.”