Brighton & Hove Wellbeing Service Community Roadshow

The Brighton & Hove Wellbeing Service delivers the NHS Primary Care Mental Health Service for the city of Brighton and Hove. ‘Primary care’ means that the service is available to anyone, either through a referral from their GP or a self-referral. The service is delivered from within GP surgeries and some other community NHS sites across the city.

The service provides free neutral and effective psychological support for people experiencing depression or anxiety and works closely with GP practices, voluntary organisations and hospital-based services across the city to make sure service users receive the right care, from the right person, at the right time.

A range of talking therapy approaches are provided, including ‘guided self-help’. Responding early to mental health needs plays a key part in keeping people well, and at the moment the low intensity therapy service, or ‘guided self-help’ service, which aims at providing this early intervention, is under utilised. The Brighton & Hove Wellbeing Service’s aim is to improve public awareness about mental health and the services available, and encourage them to seek support early with a view to addressing difficulties before they become more severe. This part of the service is staffed by practitioners who are trained to provide low intensity talking therapies. Using NICE recommended Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques, guided self-help supports people with mild to moderate difficulties. These short courses can make an enormous difference and leave attendees feeling better prepared for dealing with difficulties in the future.

The Brighton & Hove Wellbeing Service are participating in a Community Roadshow event at Churchill Square throughout the last week of November. This will involve a short film being played on a loop, providing the public with five ‘top tips’ for improving wellbeing, and allowing people to find out more about the service – it’s an important opportunity to raise awareness about the NHS primary care mental health service which is available to everyone in our community.

Find out more, by visiting www.bics.nhs.uk