Worcester City PCN Mental Health Service

Find resources to stay well and lift your mood here.

Need urgent support?

Call 999 or visit A&E if:

  • Someone’s life is at risk - for example, they have seriously injured themselves or taken an overdose.

  • You do not feel you can keep yourself or someone else safe - a mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a physical one. We promise, you will not be wasting anyone’s time by reaching out.

If you’re under 19, you can also call 0800 111 to talk to Childline. The number will not appear on your phone bill or call history.

What’s on your mind?

Cost of Living/Money Concerns

Cost of Living Support Fact Sheet

The government have published a fact sheet on the financial support available for households throughout the Cost of Living crisis. This can be found at the link below.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice offer a range of support, advice and practical tips with all money worries from budgeting, cost of living, debts, what benefits you could be entitled to, which bank account to get and support with gambling.

Telephone advice: call free on 0800 278 7891

  • Drop in advice at Hop market Office: Tuesdays 9.30am- 12 noon, Thursdays 9.30am til 12 noon

  • Text on 0798 44 39 4789 stating your name, postcode, type of advice you need (example; housing, debt, benefits) and best time to contact you and you should receive a call back.

  • Email: advice@citaworcester.org.uk  can email concerns and provide and contact number to get a call back

National Debt Line

National Debt line is a charity which gives free and independent debt advice over the phone and online.

Act on Energy

Act on Energy encourages energy conservation by providing free and impartial advice to householders in Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and surrounding local areas.

Tel: 0800 988 2881

Starting Well Partnership

Supports families with a ranger of services based on the healthy children programme work with health visitors, school nurses. They run Stay and Play sessions, and have family hubs across Worcester City, including Saffron (Stanley road) Tudor Way (Dines Green) and Buttercup (Wardon).

Tel: 01905 520 032

Action for Children

Action for children can offer support for parents including: emergency funding for food, fuel, school uniforms etc.

Homelessness, Drug and Alcohol Support

Starting Well Worcestershire

Starting Well have some great advice for young people who find themselves potentially homeless or in a crisis.

Maggs Day Centre

Maggs Day Centre provide homeless people a safe, warm place where they can get clean clothes, a hot meal and a shower.

Support for Young People

Trancakes (Identification Support Group)

Trancakes is an online support group for transgender young people between the ages of 13-19. The groups provides the opportunity to meet other like-minded young people in a safe space to share information and advice, or just have a chat!

Student Stress (NHS)

The NHS website has some great information and advice on managing with student stress while at college or university. Most students will deal with stress during their education, but there are resources available to help you if you’re finding your time at university a bit too stressful.

Study Well - University of Worcester

The University of Worcester website provides students with some ideas on how to manage stress while living the day-to-day life of a university student.

Bereavement & Young People

Losing a loved one at a young age can be one of the hardest things to deal with in life. Support and advice is available for any person, old or young, to help you get through it.

Young Minds

YoungMinds is a mental health charity for young people, typically under the age of 25. They are able to help with many different issues in life, such as university or study struggles, depression and anxiety. They also can help you organise any medications you may need.

Every Mind Matters - NHS

The Every Mind Matters website provides helpful tips and information on managing your mental health by improving your day to day life, with tips on how to improve your sleep and ways to introduce exercise into your life.

MIND Charity

MIND are an amazing charity that support people of all ages in improving their mental wellbeing. They provide unique services and a whole host of advice on their website, which can be found below.

Getting Active

The Benefits of Exercise

You may have heard it before, but exercise is one of the best ways to get yourself in a better mental state. While exercising might not fix many of the problems causing you to have bad mental health, it will provide an escape from your problems for a little peace of mind and may start a snowball effect for you to begin working on improving your mental wellbeing.

Exercise for depression

Being depressed can leave you feeling heavy and low on energy, which can negatively affect your physical health. Exercising can help to lift your mood, while providing you with an energy boost to allow you to start tackling the bigger issues at hand.

Perdiswell Leisure Centre

Perdiswell Leisure Centre is a great place to visit to start getting more active - with swimming pools, 3G football pitches and a fully equipped gym, there are activities for everyone to get involved with!

Couch to 5k

Couch to 5k, largely popularised during the Covid-19 lockdowns, is an NHS scheme helping people to run 5km in a single outing in just 9 weeks. Running is one of the best forms of exercise for your lungs and heart and will help improve your general health and endurance.

Run Talk Run

Run Talk Run have support groups which carry out runs and walks every week with the aim being to have a safe space to talk to someone. You might feel like you need somewhere to talk or someone to talk to, but don’t want to speak to a medical professional or therapist - that’s where Run Talk Run come into play.

Community Hubs/Drop in Cafes

The Granary Café - Hope Church Worcester

Drop in café on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, offering a listening ear and help with feelings of social isolation and anxiety. Can also offer some practical help and support, such as sign posting to money advice and foodbanks. 

As a church they also offer prayer support and spiritual guidance regardless of people situation, age, disability, gender, religion, race or sexual orientation.

Worcester Community Trust

Provide a range of services that support individuals and families 

  • Social Connection

  • Group activities

  • Place of warmth - access to wifi and free phone charging

  • Drop in sessions

  • Coffee mornings

  • Support with financial hardship and energy support

  • Breakfast groups

  • Soup groups

  • After school activities

  • Summer play schemes

  • Support with housing

Other local support/websites

Onside Advocacy

Onside Advocacy provide a range of support and services including: Advocacy services, Wellbeing support and advice, Support with employment, Children’s and young people services as well as support with Mental Health.

They are also able to help with issues such as housing, finances, employment and other lifestyle improvements such as stopping smoking, losing weight or eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Access Hub: 01905 27525

ChatHealth

ChatHealth allows young people in Worcestershire to speak to their School Health Nurse via text message for confidential advice and support on a variety of issues, including bullying, emotional health, relationship problems, alcohol and drugs.

ChatHealth is available between 9:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday by calling 07507331750.

Healthy Minds

Starting Well - Bullying Advice

Starting Well provide advice on what to do if you’re being bullied in school, college, at home or online.

Samaritans

Samaritans offer a variety of activities and programmes to get involved with including counselling, academic support, creative groups, transition supports, health and wellness, work preparation as well having someone to meet new friends and chill.

Email Jo at Samaritans

Self Help Guides

Mindfulness

Mindfulness simply means being more in the moment. Mindfulness can help you:

  • become more self-aware

  • feel calmer and less stressed

  • feel more able to choose how to respond to your thoughts and feelings

  • cope with difficult or unhelpful thoughts

  • be kinder towards yourself.

Although it is originated for Buddhism you do not have to be spiritual to practice mindfulness.

Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is extremely important for your mental and physical health. A bad night of sleep can leave you feeling lethargic and negative all day, leading to more negative experiences throughout the day.

Find out more about how to improve your sleep and set yourself up for success.

Apps for anxiety, sleep and wellbeing

Feeling Good & Feeling Good Teens

Positive mental training – two NHS-approved Apps to help you build your mental strength. Some of the features are free but others can only be unlocked by payment (around £10/yr)

ClearFear

Well-designed free App with lots of ideas and interaction on coping with worries, emotions or physical symptoms of anxiety. Appealing images, GIFs to make you laugh and lots more!

FearTools

Best for older teens or young adults this features an anxiety test, relaxing music, guided meditation, TED talks, a thought diary and ideas for activities to help when you’re feeling anxious. This app is completely free to use.

Equoo

Designed by psychologists and one of the Apps recommended by the NHS, this App lets you develop emotional intelligence coping skills while playing adventure games. You can play quite a bit for free to see if you like it but some features are paid-for.

My Possible Self

Tackle anxiety, stress and unhelpful negative thinking with this App which is best for age 17+ yrs

Mindshift

For over 18’s Uses relaxation techniques like mindful breathing and positive visualisation to help with anxiety. There is also a section on “Thinking Right” with helpful thoughts which you can select to use instead of your usual negative circular thoughts e.g. if you’re having trouble sleeping. The information is well written but more suitable for young adults or parents.

Headspace

A hugely popular mindfulness and meditation App with adults, this also has a section for children. The adult section is free for ten sessions and is also suitable for older children. The children’s meditations are shorter but that section is not free although you can just subscribe for a month at a time. There is a new section on sleep and one for students.

Fabulous

This award-winning App is not free but you can have free trial. It helps you build healthy habits that stick, create structure and routine

Apps for low mood & depression

MoodTools

A free App for managing depression with mood tracker, videos, meditations and more. A sister App to the popular FearTools for anxiety.

Stay Alive

A great App where you can keep a safety plan, read about strategies for staying safe, explore the tips on how to stay grounded when you are feeling overwhelmed, try the guided-breathing exercises and store photos and memories that are important to you. It links directly to national crisis numbers and you can also store your own numbers of people to contact when you’re in a crisis.

Calm Harm

An App designed mainly for people to help reduce the urge to self-harm but generally useful for helping you cope with extreme emotions as it suggests soothing, distracting, breathing or other activities that you can choose from. Appealing graphics and lots and lots of ideas.

distrACT

Very good for signposting to other services, and has some self-harm educational information as well as links to Art, Books and Films.

“I would often use this when people want a list of useful contacts in an emergency or when distressed and they often forget who to call, as it is all in one place” (Therapist), “I liked the ideas for music, films and books” (Elsa, 15)