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The service is provided in partnership between, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Sunderland Counselling Service, Sunderland MIND and Washington MIND.

Sometimes feeling stressed, worried or struggling to cope can be a normal reaction to difficult life events
but when these feelings last, as they can do for up to 1 in 4 people, you may need to seek help.

  • Have you lost interest in things you used to enjoy?
  • Do you find yourself worrying much of the time?
  • Are you finding it difficult to go to sleep or stay asleep?
  • Do you feel bad about yourself?
  • Do you feel panicky at times? 
  • Do you have a phobia?
  • Are you struggling to adjust to a long term physical health condition?
  • Do you find social situations stressful?
  • Do you spend time obsessing about worries or repeating behaviours to reduce anxiety?
  • Have you experienced a bereavement and are struggling to cope?

Talking therapy support in the service is provided by:

  • Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
  • Sunderland Counselling Service
  • Sunderland MIND
  • Washington MIND

You can access the service if you are:

  • Aged 16 or over (and have completed Year 11 at school or  college)
  • You live in Sunderland, Washington, Hetton-Le-Hole or  Houghton-le-Spring
  • And are registered with a GP (family doctor) in these areas

All our therapy services are provided free of charge.

All of our therapies are provided by trained and qualified staff. Sessions take place online, over the phone or in person. To get the most out of therapy you will need to attend appointments regularly. Not attending can affect your therapy and the service. The therapist that you see will depend on the therapy that is most suitable for you

Self-refer to Sunderland Talking Therapies on 0191 566 5454 or using the self-referral form on our website
www.sunderlandtalkingtherapies.co.uk

When you call us a member of our administration team will ask for some basic information, such as name and date of birth. They will then arrange an appointment at a time convenient for you to speak to a therapist who will ask some questions about your current difficulties. This appointment may take up to 40 minutes and is usually over the phone. An interpreter will be provided if required. A face-to-face appointment can also be
offered if needed. At the end of the appointment you and the therapist will think about the best treatment to meet your needs.  This may be within Sunderland Talking Therapies or another service. Please note, wait times for the different treatments can vary.

Everything you tell your therapist will be kept confidential and will only be shared with professionals supporting your care.

There are exceptions to this. There are times when we need to share information with other agencies:

  • If you are at risk of harm
  • If you tell us that someone you know is at risk of harm
  • If you tell us that a child is at risk of harm
  • If you tell us about a serious crime that has not been reported.

When we need to speak to other agencies we will try to speak to you about this first. If you have any concerns about confidentiality, please speak to a member of staff.

People struggle with their mental health in many different ways. Talking therapy has been shown to be an excellent way to improve mental health. We offer two types of talking therapy: low and high intensity.

Low Intensity Treatment Options
Low intensity treatments are suitable for the common mental health issues of low mood, depression, anxiety and panic. The treatments help you take control of your mental and emotional wellbeing by teaching you coping skills. All low intensity treatments use the principles of Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy (CBT). CBT explains how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all linked, and keep problems going.

You will learn how to self-manage your mental health problems using workbooks and self-help guides in and outside of sessions, whilst being supported by a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP).

Guided Self-help
This is provided on a one to one basis. You will speak to your therapist on the telephone, online or face-to-face. You will be offered between four and eight sessions. Sessions last between 20 and 30 minutes. The therapy will be individual to you and will be tailored to your needs, preferences and goals.

Digital Therapy
We offer an online therapy programme called Silvercloud, which has been proven to improve symptoms of stress, anxiety and low mood. It is a flexible treatment and can be accessed at any time of the day to fit around your lifestyle and needs.  There are lots of different programmes available and these are
personalised for each user. You will still be supported regularly by your therapist who will send regular messages to ensure you are getting the most from the programme.

Self-help Classes
We offer a wide range of self-help classes to help you learn strategies to overcome a number of common difficulties, such as low mood, anxiety and stress. Being in the same room as others experiencing similar difficulties can be hugely comforting. There is also never any pressure to share your own experiences in the class if you do not feel comfortable.

Feedback from people who have attended one of our classes:
“Very useful, very supportive, techniques have really worked”.
“I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to help me”.
“The group was very helpful and informative. Staff were brilliant - very knowledgeable and friendly”. “Every workbook and week was relevant to how I was feeling. I really enjoyed the sessions they have really helped my recovery. I am feeling great and do refer back to the workbooks often".

High intensity treatment is offered when low intensity support does not lead to improvement in symptoms, or where your level of symptoms suggests a high intensity approach would be more
appropriate. Most high intensity therapies can be accessed by telephone, online or face-to-face.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 
This is provided on a one-to-one basis. You will be offered around twelve sessions. Sessions last between 50 and 60 minutes.

CBT can help you change how you think (‘cognitive’) and what you do (behavioural) to improve how you feel. CBT focuses very much on the ‘here and now’ problems and difficulties and helps you to explore how you think about yourself, other people and the world.

Trauma-focussed CBT is also provided as an option. This therapy helps people who have experienced a traumatic event to make sense of and come to terms with this.

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
This is provided on a one-to-one basis. You will be offered between twelve and sixteen sessions. Sessions last one hour. IPT is suitable for people with mild to moderate depression. In therapy you will explore how symptoms, such as depressed mood, can be a response to current difficulties in our interactions with others and how these symptoms can also affect the quality of these interactions. IPT can focus on
improving interactions and may look at conflicts with others, life changes, grief and loss and difficulties in starting or keeping relationships going.

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)
This is provided on a one-to-one basis. You will be offered between twelve and sixteen sessions. Sessions last one hour. EMDR is suitable for people who have experienced a traumatic event. Trauma can lead to intrusive thoughts, upsetting memories, nightmares or flashbacks. EMDR treatment can help the brain reprocess the memories and allow you to move on in life. EMDR can be a rapid treatment and does not need you to talk about the event in detail in your sessions.

Couple’s Therapy for Depression
This is provided to couples who are experiencing distress in their relationship, where one or both of the partners are suffering with depression. You will be offered between twelve and sixteen sessions. Sessions last one hour. The aim of the treatment is to help reduce negativity in the relationship, build closeness and improve communication. The therapy will explore how to cope with everyday challenges facing the couple and use problem solving skills to reduce stress.

Carer’s Therapy
This is provided on a one-to-one basis. You will be offered between twelve and sixteen sessions. Sessions last one hour. This treatment focuses on the needs of the carer and what they need and want. The therapist will work with you to think about your situation, look at your options, and find ways to cope. In therapy you will be able to explore your feelings, including your relationship with the person you care for. This is likely to help you find your own solutions and make decisions about your life.

Counselling
This is provided on a one to one basis. You will speak to your therapist on the telephone, online or face to face. You will be offered up to six sessions. Sessions last 50 minutes. Counselling involves the therapist listening to you discuss your experiences and helping you find ways to deal with emotional issues. Your counsellor will support you to:

  • Access and express underlying feelings and make sense of them
  • Find new meanings to make positive changes in your life
  • Reduce your negative thoughts and feelings
  • Feel better about yourself and your life
  • Find ways to achieve a greater degree of choice and purpose in the world
  • Develop emotional awareness
  • Gain greater understanding of yourself, your relationships, and your responses to others
  • Find different ways to manage your feelings
  • Explore childhood experiences and feelings and how they related to present day situations.

Community Practitioner Support
This is provided on a one to one basis. You will speak to your therapist on the telephone, online or face-to-face. You will be offered between six and eight sessions. Sessions last around 60 minutes. Community Practitioners work with people who are living with complex problems. They use a variety of therapeutic skills to support wellbeing, including CBT informed and Solution Focussed interventions. Sessions are usually offered on a one-to-one basis, however can also be delivered in classes.

Systemic Therapy
Sessions can take place with individuals, couples or families. You will be offered between twelve and sixteen sessions. Sessions last one hour. Systemic therapy focuses on relationships between groups of
people, rather than only an individual’s thoughts and feelings.

Groups can be families, work teams, friends or another set of people whose relationship is key to their success. Systemic therapy focuses on patterns in relationships and uncovers ways that people communicate and behave within a system.

Dual Diagnosis Support
This is provided on a one-to-one basis. You will speak to your therapist on the telephone, online or face-to-face. A dual diagnosis worker offers support to people who have anxiety and/or depression and ongoing difficulties with drug or alcohol misuse. Treatment will explore motivation and difficulties in making changes. It will also explore the relationship between substance misuse and mental health problems as well as the impact that substance misuse can have on functioning and relationships.

Employment Support Advisors
Having a good job can help you to maintain good mental health. If your job is impacting on your mental health or your mental health is impacting on your job, we can offer support and guidance to overcome concerns and barriers, supporting you to return to work, while waiting or accessing therapy. Employment support advisors can support you to find work, stay in work, or return to work as quickly as possible.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:

We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention. You can provide feedback in the following ways:

  • the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourvoice
  • complete a Your Voice survey, available on wards, reception areas or from staff
  • other options for sharing your feedback and experience www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourfeedback

We invite anyone being supported by our service to join our  user forum meetings. These meetings allow you to have your  say about your experiences of accessing our service and  help us to improve for the future. The forum meets every two  months. Speak to your therapist if you’d like to get involved.

Samaritans (24 hour helpline for people in crisis) 116 123 free anytime from any phone.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation
Trust Crisis Team (for people who are suicidal and in distress) Telephone: 0800 652 2867

Sunderland and South Tyneside – Mental Health Matters Helpline
Telephone: 0800 138 6543
Website: www.mhm.org.uk
Provides 24/7 emotional support, advice and guidance to residents of Sunderland and South Tyneside who are struggling with their mental health.

Sunderland Talking Therapies
Grange Park Clinic
Monkwearmouth Hospital
Newcastle Road
Sunderland
SR5 1NB

Telephone self-referral line: 0191 566 5454 (Mon-Fri, 9am-4.45pm) charged at local rate.
General enquiry line: 0191 566 5450 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
Website: www.sunderlandtalkingtherapies.co.uk to fill in our self-referral form
Email: SunderlandTalkingTherapiesAdmin@cntw.nhs.uk
 

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre on telephone 0191 246 7288.

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2023 Copyright: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Ref: PIC/145/1125 November 2025 V10

Website: www.cntw.nhs.uk

Telephone: 0191 246 7288

Review date 2026