Mental Health Resources

If you are having problems with your mental health, there is a wide range of free self-help resources available either on-line, or by telephone.

If you need urgent help with your Mental Health, please scroll to the Crisis Contacts section at the bottom of this page. 

The Thrive Welcome Team is made up of experienced mental health practitioners who work closely together to support people with mental health problems.  It offers local drop-in sessions where you can speak to one of these practitioners, who'll help you come up with a plan to get you back to feeling well. You can find out more by clicking HERE.

Counselling isn't a service which is provided by NHS Lothian itself, but if it is something you are interested in, you can access a list of current, non-NHS, providers here:

Counselling Services in Edinburgh

For people who are having difficulty sleeping, Sleepio is a free, fully automated six-session programme of digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Sleep itself is an entirely psychological phenomenon, and insomnia is most commonly caused by day-to-day worries and stresses that upset the brain's ability to switch off when we go to bed. Sleepio has been scientifically designed and tested by world experts in sleep, and it uses digital technology to provide you with therapeutic content that is specific towards what's causing your insomnia.

If the stresses and worries that are causing your sleep issues are also negatively affecting you during the day, there is a sister app, also free,  called Daylight. It is instantly accessible, 24 hours a day, and offers you the opportunity to use evidence-based cognitive behavioural techniques in the moment, whenever you are struggling. It uses the same individualised psychological techniques to help you get better at managing your stresses and worries during the day. 

If you’ve been a victim of rape or sexual assault, you can self-refer to the Sexual Assault Response Co-ordination Service (SARCS) by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once you complete your self-referral, a healthcare professional at the SARCS will phone you back to discuss and arrange your care.  You may be able to have a forensic medical examination at a SARCS without making a report to the police.

This is an on-line digital platform that uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help people who may be experiencing a variety of different mental health problems.  It is suitable for people who are being treated with, or without, medication.  It can also be used by people who have already done CBT in the past, but would like a "refresher".  The platform provides a package of online, self-guided and interactive modules which are evidence-based.  Access to the digital platform is immediate from receipt of referral and account activation. 

The platform is clinically proven to be as effective as face-to-face therapy, with up to 80% of users showing improvement in anxiety and depression. Each patient is supported on the platform with regular reviews by our Wellbeing Workers. 

The currently available modules cover the following conditions:

• Depression and Anxiety
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Depression
• Social Anxiety
• Health Anxiety
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Panic
• Perinatal and Wellbeing
• Phobia

Unlike all of the other services mentioned elsewhere on this page, you can only access Silvercloud if you have first been referred by you GP or mental health nurse (MHN). Referral is simple and quick however, so if you are interested, please let your GP/MHN know.  You will need to supply an email address through which you can be contacted by the Silvercloud team in the days following your referral.

This is a self-help programme for treatment of depression, anxiety, stress, low self-confidence and poor life-coping skills in general.  The programme consists of 12 audio tracks, and a short 3 minute video, to be watched initially, explaining how it works. Each track , lasting 18 minutes, is ideally listened to 5 times a week, and in this way the whole programme takes 12 weeks to complete. However research has shown that there is considerable benefit after 4 weeks. 

The programme is delivered via an app called Sorted: mental health, which can be downloaded free-of-charge from Google Play or the Apple App Store.  To use the app, you will need the following details to log in and make use of the full programme:

           Username: lothianwidef1                         Password: positive

There is also a separate Feeling Good Teens app that has been specially developed for those between the ages of 10-15, and you can find further information about that here.

This service offers appointment-based, telephone support, for people living in Scotland who are feeling low, anxious or stressed.  It's delivered by a team of therapists and is based on cognitive behavioural therapy principles (CBT).  The lines are currently open Mon-Fri, 9am to 9pm, and you don't need a referral to use the service.  Further details can be found by clicking the Living Life link above, or by simply calling 0800 328 9655.

Anxiety in children can be difficult for parents and carers to deal with. If you are in this situation, there are some on-line workshops and other resources which you can access directly without need for a referral.  Click HERE to find out more.

The local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service has compiled a list of various websites that offer a wide range of self-help resources to children and young people. It covers a wide range of problems ranging from low mood and anxiety to bereavement.  It can be downloaded by clicking HERE.