Mental health

The City & Hackney Mental Health Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day every day of the year and is free to call on: 0800 073 0006

If you, or someone you know, are experiencing thoughts they cannot control, is in danger of harming themselves or someone else, is seeing or hearing things that are not there, or have any other urgent mental health crisis, please call the number. 

Non-urgent support with Mental Health can be discussed and referred by GP.

If you are a resident in the City of London, you can phone our 24-hour crisis helpline if you are worried about your mental health, or are in distress and need to contact a health professional at any time.

24-hour Mental Health Crisis Helpline: 0800 073 0006 (City residents only)

The Crisis Helpline can:

• ​​support and help you if you have mental health problems
• provide accurate information and advice about local mental health services
• communicate with other services or teams on your behalf if you wish
• support you in a non-directive way, to empower and encourage you to take control of your own life and come to your own decisions.​

The NHS Choices website offers a wealth of information about various types of mental illnesses and other common disorders. Mental Health on the NHS Choices website

(City workers - 020 3475 5080, Mon-Fri 10am - 5pm, Thurs 1pm - 7pm) (City residents - 020 7392 2919, Mon-Fri 10am - 5pm). Please note that this service is for City of London residents, workers and students only and does not serve Greater London. City Advice website(external link).

​City Advice is a free advice service that offers confidential and impartial advice to help those living, working, or studying in the Square Mile (or a City of London Corporation Estate). Their expert advisors are qualified to advise on:

Welfare benefits

• Debt
• Legal issues
• Consumer rights
• Employment rights
• Family and relationship problems

The City and Hackney Mental Health Service provides support and services to children and young people experiencing mental health problems. Download CAMHS PDF or visit City and Hackney CAMHS website

Offers virtual counselling and psychotherapy sessions to workers and residents in and around the Square Mile, whatever their financial circumstances, improving access to treatments that are not available through the NHS.

Counselling and psychotherapy is available to individuals, couples and groups who are experiencing any range of emotional or psychological difficulties. The fee is based on individuals’ income and particular financial circumstances.

The online services are available to workers with usual workplaces located in the postcodes EC1-EC5.

Find out more and book an online appointment by visiting the City Wellbeing Centre website​(external link)​.​

City and Hackney Mind is a local mental health charity offering support services to residents of Hackney and the City of London. Its services include community and hospital-based advocacy, counselling, education services and employment support, therapeutic day service and welfare rights advice. Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest website

Early years children sometimes experience a range of difficulties including anxiety, difficulties sharing and tantrums. The Anna Freud centre provides some useful resources on how to support young children.

Common difficulties in the early years | Anna Freud

Here is the free webinar, with Anna Freud on the above, fantastic Continued Professional Development resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT0aFZjx6KQ

Please find a link to download the E-Book, Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad from the Anna Freud Centre: https://brandplatform.annafreud.org/share/K3vV2BUkEbWw4bvr1PMe

Dragon Café in the City at Shoe Lane Library. Wednesdays (fortnightly), 12 - 7:30pm

Dragon Café in the City welcomes anyone working or living in the Square Mile. It's a space where you can "release the pressure" of work, home or day-to-day life. Come along and take part in a range of free activities promoting mental wellbeing, or just to relax and meditate in the space.

More details on the Dragon Cafe in the City website

City residents can access free support for bereavement through St Joseph's Hospice (commissioned by City and Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group).

Contact the Hospice via the First Contact Team on 0300 303 0400 for referrals and 24/7 advice and support, or email St Josephs​.

080 8802 5858 (5pm-midnight, 7 days a week) CALM's helpline is for men who are down or have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support. CALM website

Every Mind Matters is delivered by Public Health England. It offers a range of useful resources to help you spot the signs of common mental health concerns, offering practical self-care tips and guidance, and explains when to seek further support.

There is also a free NHS-approved online tool, which helps you to build an action plan to deal with stress and anxiety, boost your mood, improve your sleep and help you feel more in control. Visit the Every Mind Matters website​(external link).

Our advice and support services help you get the right support when and where you need it most.

Meet other single mums and dads on our online forum or in our local and digital groups. If you need advice, our information pages, webchat and helpline provide expert guidance on a wide range of topics. We are proud to be Advice Quality Standard (AQS) acredited. The AQS is awarded to organisations that give advice to members of the public on legal issues.

For more information: Support for single parents | Gingerbread

Good Thinking is a free and unique digital platform, designed to support the wellbeing of Londoners. It offers safe, proactive, early intervention tools to help with the four most common wellbeing concerns: anxiety, depression, stress and sleep. Everything you do on Good Thinking is anonymous and all resources have been reviewed by a Consultant Psychiatrist. Good Thinking website.(external link)

Good Thinking can also offer support to young people, aged 13-18 years old, with access to free resources and apps to improve their mental wellbeing. Good Thinking website for 13-18 year olds

If you need to talk, we're here to listen. Call us free on 0808 800 2222.

For more information: Parenting and Family Support - Family Lives (Parentline Plus) | Family Lives

Free help and advice for City residents experiencing common mental health problems, such as depression, stress or anxiety, provided through Homerton Hospital. This service uses talking therapy to help overcome persistent low mood and improve wellbeing. It is available to anyone aged 18 years and above who is registered with a City or Hackney GP practice (self-referral). Talk Changes can be contacted by calling 020 7683 42

Who are we?
Health visitors are nurses or midwives with specialist training in family and public health. We help parents and their families to improve health and wellbeing during pregnancy, after birth and all the way through until your child is five.

Who do we work with?
We work as part of a wider health team which includes nursery nurses, GPs, midwives, paediatricians, psychologists, speech therapists, and other health professionals. We also work closely with Children’s Centre staff, family support workers, and Children’s Social Care.

Where will you see us?
You will meet us in your home or in local Well Baby Clinics, your GP’s surgery, a Children’s Centre, or in an Early Years setting. We offer you and your child five health and developmental appointments as part of the Department of Health's “Healthy Child Programme”. We are here to help, listen, understand your needs, and work in partnership with you to give your family the best start.

When will we see you?

• During your pregnancy – after 28 weeks you will be contacted by our team
• 10 – 14 days after the birth of your baby
• 6 to 8 weeks
• 8 to 12 months
• 27 months

What services and support do we offer?

Drop-in Well Baby Clinics which you can attend without an appointment.

Scheduled appointments

We can talk about any of the following issues that you and your family might need advice or support with:

• Breastfeeding
• Milk and food for babies, toddlers, and older children
• Sleep
• Understanding crying
• Managing childhood illnesses
• Your child’s development
• Your well-being as parents
• Understanding your child’s behaviour
• Play and stimulation
• Talking to your baby and child

Can health visitors help families who need extra advice and support?
Yes. Our service is for the whole family. We know that being a parent or carer can be very hard; particularly if you are feeling low, anxious, or you cannot cope.

Your health visitor can give you support and provide advice on:

• you and your family’s emotional health and wellbeing
• any additional health and developmental needs your baby or child might have
• developing a relationship with your baby
• domestic abuse
• drug and alcohol problems
• changes in your family life

What are Early Help Assessments and Referrals?
If you are worried about your child's or family’s safety you can ask us for help.

We work together with local services and parents to provide support, including safeguarding our local families and children.

All members of the Health Visiting team use the Children’s Social Care needs thresholds and referral pathways.

Staff who identify a child or family in need of additional support use a child-centred Early Help Form to make a referral to the Multi-Agency Team (MAT) at the Children's Centre.

The Health Visiting service will ensure that:

• Early and timely referrals take place
• The Early Help Form is used to assess children’s needs and to decide how these could best be met
• This form will be completed with parental agreement and discussion
• Early Help referrals to the Children's Centre team will identify supportive interventions for families.
• The Early Help Form will support joint working with other local services such as Early Years.

Additional support needs and disabilities
Some families have children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and often require additional support from specialist services.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s progress, you can speak to your doctor or health visitor. These concerns could be with common issues such as sleep or toilet training or any questions regarding your child’s development such as speech and language or reaching other developmental milestones.

Your health visitor will try to help or link you in with a specialist service that can help.

Who to contact:
Team A - Barton House Health Centre: 020 7683 4955 John Scott Health Centre: 020 7683 4700
Team B - Fountayne Road Health Centre: 020 7683 4831
Team C - Hackney Ark: 0207 014 7093
Team D - Lower Clapton Health Centre: 020 7683 4695
Team E - St Leonards Hospital 1st Floor D Block: 020 7683 4151 / 4131 / 4153 / 4059
Team F - Ann Tayler Children’s Centre: 020 7275 6028/29/30 Well street Practice: 0207 683 2636/ 2638 / 2639 Central Number: 0207 683 4151 or 0207 683 4219

Time/days:
Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm

Who is eligible?
Health visiting is a universal service offered to all parents living in the City of London and the London Borough of Hackney.

Phone: 020 7683 4219

For men aged 18+ who are experiencing thoughts, feelings, or attempts of suicide. James' Place offers a free talking therapy intervention, with trained specialists using a unique model in a welcoming and friendly environment.

Men can directly refer to James' Place via the "get support" link on the website. Referrals can also be made from concerned third parties and professionals. Visit James' Place(external link) to find out more.

City residents aged between 11 and 19 years old can access free and anonymous online counselling and emotional support through Kooth.

Kooth provides online support from a professional team of qualified counsellors. It’s an online mental health and wellbeing service for young people. Children and young people using the service are able to chat with qualified counsellors via instant messaging, online drop-in services, or booked sessions. Kooth has no referrals or waiting lists. To access it, visit the Kooth website(external link) and select “Hackney and the City” from the drop-down list, and then “Zone 1 – City of London”.

Who we are:
The Perinatal Service and Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit is an Adult Mental Health Service working with women who have moderate to severe mental health difficulties in pregnancy or within the first year after child birth. The mental-health difficulty may be pre-existing, have started during pregnancy or started after childbirth.

What we do:
Members of the team have different professional backgrounds including; nursing, psychology, and medicine. This experienced and diverse team has particular experience in the care and treatment of women from diverse cultures. A range of opportunities to engage mothers, infants and families in the process of recovery are offered.

If there is a previous, current or family history of mental health difficulties, a woman can agree to a referral to this service.

Tel: 020 8510 8151/020 8510 8552

Website: https://www.elft.nhs.uk/service/218/Perinatal-Service

Address:
City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health
Perinatal Mental Health Service
Homerton Row
Hackney

​020 7263 7070 (open 24 hours, 7 days a week)

Maytree offers a telephone helpline to people in suicidal crisis, plus a respite stay in a friendly, relaxed environment. Our volunteer befrienders are trained to listen with empathy, respect and a non-judgemental attitude. This national service is free to anyone living in the UK. Maytree website

Working to end the inequalities that people experiencing mental illness face and to help those living with learning disabilities or reduced mental capacity. Mental Health Foundation website

Do you struggle to fall asleep? Do you feel tired? Do you have a child who won’t sleep in their own bed?

Having a sleep issue is surprisingly common. At any given time up to 40% of adults and 50% of children (this rises to 80% with a SEND diagnosis) have difficulties with their sleep. Yet in a recent survey, almost 60% of adults felt there was a lack of support for sleep issues. Sleep problems can leave people feeling isolated and lonely.

Our helpline is run by a team of specialist trained sleep advisors. Although we cannot give medical advice, we can talk through your issues, offer you some practical strategies and recommend services that could help.

Sleep education is empowering – you can understand why you might not be sleeping well and how that can change. We promise to listen without judgement and help you decide what next steps are right for you.

If you are looking for advice and support and the helpline isn’t open, please visit our Information and Support pages or our list of helpful organisations.

Tel: If you’d like to talk about your sleep, you can call us on 03303 530 541 between 7pm and 9pm, Monday / Tuesday / Thursday and mornings between 9-11am Monday / Wednesday.

For more information: National Sleep Helpline - The Sleep Charity

PANDAS is a charity with a mission: ‘To be the UK’s most recognised and trusted support service for families and their networks who may be suffering with perinatal mental illness, including prenatal (antenatal) and postnatal depression.’

Our aim is to make sure no parent, family or carer feels alone. We have a variety of support services available to ensure help is delivered in a way that is right for you. No one suffering any form of mental illness should feel they’re on their own.

We offer motivational, educational and positive content through our social media channels, which adds to our value for the parents who need our help the most.

PANDAS Foundation values difference and diversity and does not discriminate on the grounds of age, gender, sexual preference, orientation, marital status, race, religion, colour, national origin, disability, heritage or political belief.

For more information: Home – PANDAS Foundation UK

Samaritans are waiting for your call: 116 123​ (24 hours, 7 days a week)

If you’re struggling to cope and need someone to talk to, Samaritans are there for you 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Call 116 123 for free, write to Jo at Samaritans, visit Samaritans' website(external link) or, if you would like to speak to a Samaritan in person, visit Central London Samaritans, 46 Marshall Street, London, W1F 9BF. They are open from 9am to 9pm every day of the week. No appointment or referral needed. They are fully wheelchair accessible.

​Shout: Text 85258 ​(24 hours, 7 days a week) Shout website(external link)

Shout is the UK's first 24/7 text service, powered by volunteers, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone in crisis any time, anywhere. It's a place to go if you're struggling to cope and you need immediate help.

Staying Safe is a website offering support for those experiencing thoughts of harm and suicide. It provides "Safety Plan" guidance tools, as well as hope for recovery through videos from individuals with personal experience. 

For more information: Staying Safe website

The Mix provides support on a range of topics for young people aged 11 – 25 years, find out more at Get Support - The Mix 

Young Minds is a charity which supports young people’s mental health visit them at https://www.youngminds.org.uk/

Being treated differently or unfairly because of our race, skin colour or ethnicity can negatively affect our mental health. Here's some information on how to get help if you've experienced racism.

Racism and mental health | How To Deal With Racism | YoungMinds

How to become an 'emotional detective' and support your child's mental health: https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/articles/zyypcxs